Help us preserve the cemetery for the future
Sadly, owing to the age of many graves at Willesden Jewish Cemetery, most have no families to look after them. Only very few graves are protected by regular maintenance arrangements.
This special place is important to the Jewish community and to London. Its unique burial landscape has earned the cemetery national heritage listings. But our National Lottery grant will only allow us to give a handful of monuments the specialist stone conservation that is needed.
But weather and time take their toll, and tens of thousands of graves at Willesden are left without care. We are always keen for people to ask us about conserving memorials. Every contribution to improving the cemetery’s physical fabric gets us closer to preserving the cemetery for future generations.
Myer Salaman memorial before repair
Salaman memorial after repair in 2018
Some families pay for annual upkeep. Others have clubbed together for specialist conservation work to save memorials at risk. Joining them is a great way to honour a family’s memory.
The US Burials team can advise on options including sensitive conservation and specialist repair to memorials. Over time, issues will occur that are not covered by regular maintenance plans. Wobbly balustrades need fixing, or parts of a monument need pinning together using sensitive methods and materials.
You may even like to support our greening programme by sowing new hedges or establishing shrubs in public areas. These may be once-a-generation projects, but they will make a difference to the whole estate.