Willesden Jewish Cemetery Location: Beaconsfield Road, Willesden NW10 2JE [map] Nearest station: Dollis Hill Open: 8am-4pm (closed Sat) Visitor centre: 10am-1pm (until 4pm Sun) (closed Fri, Sat) Admission: free Seven word summary: the Rolls Royce of London's Jewish cemeteries Website:willesdenjewishcemetery.org.uk Time to set aside: one hour plus
London has severalJewish cemeteries, each reflecting the era in which it was created. Willesden's is one of the largest and is generally agreed to be the most prestigious, having opened in 1873 at a time of burgeoning mercantile success. The site was transformed from a few acres grazed by sheep to a whirl of avenues and gothic monuments, back when Willesden was essentially the countryside, and set aside for Jewish settlers of German and Dutch origin. Within its grounds lie an antipodean Prime Minister, a top-drawer scientist, a grocery magnate, several Rothschilds and a filmmaker immortalised by a Spitting Image puppet... but a visit's not just about grave-spotting, it's also a place of elegant contemplation.
The United Synagogue won a Lottery grant in 2015 to restore several key features and open up a visitor centre, a project which had the misfortune to culminate under lockdown. They eventually opened up in September 2020, and it's taken me until now to get down amid more normal circumstances. The entrance is up Glebe Road behind the bus garage, following the perimeter wall to the sole set of gates, with the visitor centre immediately beyond. They call this the House of Life because best be upbeat, and if the front door's locked that's because you need to buzz. Sunday's the best day to visit with the longest opening hours, otherwise it's Monday to Thursday mornings only, plus of course the whole cemetery is closed on Saturdays.
The visitor centre's just the one big room, plus a nice porch and several offices, but it tells the cemetery's story well. Boards explain why the paths are so wide and why northwest London proved attractive to Jews moving from the East End and how there have been 27,000 burials here, plus there's a short video to watch and several touchscreen biographies to access. A detailed map shows where the most interesting graves are, the paper version of which will be your friend as you walk round the cemetery later. But it's probably the volunteer on duty you'll get most information from because Willesden has a properly friendly set-up. I learned from mine that WJC still holds about 25 burials a year, mostly for those who 'pre-booked' years ago, whereas these days the big Jewish cemeteries are out in Bushey and Waltham Abbey.
The nearest 'big name' to the entrance is Jack Cohen, or rather Sir John Edward Cohen, founded of the Tesco supermarket chain. His double granite slab is one of the largest in the cemetery, though not insufferably ostentatious. Alongside I spotted a rare piece of litter - a tub of creamy Muller Rice discarded on the grass. Although grocery-based decor might be deemed appropriate here, eating goes very much against Jewish cemetery etiquette (see also drinking, playing music, riding a bike or exercising a dog). The MP Greville Janner is buried close by although he doesn't get to appear in the leaflet, possibly for very good reason.
Centrepiece of the cemetery is the Prayer Hall where coffins rest for eulogies immediately before burial. If it's unlocked you can pass under the memorial clock, step inside onto the chequerboard floor and trigger a recording of Psalm 23. The portico out front was added by Harry Wharton Ford, the same architect who designed the fabulous Barons Court station, proving there's always a tube-related anecdote if you dig deep enough. Meanwhile the mortuary nextdoor is now used as public toilets, or more likely I just failed to enter via the right door so got the wrong idea.
Let's get back to tracking down the graves of the famous. Rosalind Franklin, the unsung crystallographer who contributed to the unravelling of DNA, was laid to rest here at the tragically early age of 37. It's traditional in a Jewish cemetery to leave a pebble on the grave that's moved you most, and Rosalind's currently has more than any other. Many of the Rothschild banking dynasty are buried at Willesden in small hedged-off plots, none especially OTT, although Hannah's mausoleum received a direct hit from a WW2 bomb so may well have been more splendid. Lottery-funded information boards are plentiful which really helps to bring some of the lesser-known names to life.
Michael Winner's last resting place isn't advertised, so I ending up walking most of the main paths before eventually spotting his jet black marble. He's in section LP if you'd like to track him down too, and had attracted the second highest number of stones. As you go further back the burials tend to be a bit more recent, mainly from the 5700s rather than the 5600s, but still just as worthy of inspection. If you're lucky the gate into the entirely separate Liberal Jewish Cemetery might be open, although a sign on the back wall suggested that should have been Sunday afternoons only.
It's a lovely space to explore, deep with history and very well maintained, if no longer as peaceful as it would have been in Victorian times. Around the perimeter are a line of modern flats which occasionally reek of weed, a fire station and a public park, plus the chief birdlife appeared to be parakeets. I was impressed by the way the cemetery had been opened up for additional visitors without losing any of its charm, confirming the power of wider social engagement even on a site devoted to the dead. Just don't visit this weekend, or indeed at any time from 14th-23th April, because the cemetery is closed for Passover... but do consider dropping by eventually.
