Views of Brady Street cemetery, London E1
Brady Street cemetery is hidden
at the back of a car park entrance to a block of flats. Walk a
few hundred yards North from Brady Street's junction with the
Whitechapel Road and it is on your left hand side. You'll spot
the ancient boundary wall first. Walk past this and turn left
into the car park and you will see the entrance gate. Entry is
by appointment with the United Synagogue burial authority. Brady
Street opened in 1761 and closed in 1858. As the cemetery filled
up it was decided to place a 4ft deep layer of soil in the centre of
the site to enable further burials to take place.
In this raised plateau area the headstones
of existing burials and those subsequently buried above them are
placed back to back. The cemetery contains some famous occupants
- notably Nathan Mayer Rothschild - founder of the British branch of
the celebrated banking dynasty. He died in 1836 and is buried next to
his wife Hannah. Their tombs are inscribed with words eulogising their
lives. Hannah's tomb has a particularly clever inscription on it
- the consonants that spell her Hebrew name are inscribed in large Hebrew characters.
The small Hebrew characters attached to them use these consonants to
begin Hebrew words which translate to: 'I
am here, praise the Lord' - appropriate sentiments for one's journey
into the next World! See photo below left.
In the 1980's the local
Council contemplated placing a compulsory purchase order on the site so
that it could be redeveloped. The law is that if no internments have
taken place for 100 years then a cemetery may have its occupants removed
and the site redeveloped - a disaster for London's Jewish Heritage. To
protect the site from this vandalism a one off internment was carried out,
and in 1990 Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild (1910 - 1990), the
third Baron Rothschild, was buried next to his illustrious ancestor.
See photo below
right. The site is now safe until 2090.
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Inscription on Hannah Rothschild's tomb, Brady Street cemetery |
Hannah's inscription spells the consonants in her name in large characters. The small Hebrew characters next to them use these consonants to begin Hebrew words which translate to: 'I am here, praise the Lord'. Clever stuff!
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Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild's (1910-1990) pink granite tomb lies adjacent to his ancestors Nathan & Hannah Rothschild |
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