Great news from Liverpool — with the announcement that the restoration of the Deane Road Jewish Cemetery has been completed.
This is what Liverpool Labour Councillor Louise Baldock wrote on her blog:
This wonderful resting place of some of the Victorians who truly made Liverpool great will be a jewel in the city’s Heritage Crown. And to think it is in Kensington, somewhere which has not enjoyed the best of reputations in the last 30 or so years, is a dream come true for me. I know that Kensington, and its neighbour, Fairfield, are great places, with lots to offer, but it wont just be me saying that soon, it will be an army of eager enthusiasts.
People will travel from around the world, not just from the UK, England or the city itself, to learn more about these very influential Victorians who helped make our city great.
Founded in 1835, the cemetery is the property and responsibility of the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation (LOHC). But it had lain abandoned and derelict for a century, the graves “obscured by trees, choked by poisonous plants, defaced with graffiti and surrounded by refuse.”
In December 2010, the Heritage Lottery Fund agreed to award £494,000 to the cemetery for a full restoration — and the keys were handed over on April 29.
There is ample information — and lots of before, during and after photos — on the cemetery’s web site detailing the restoration project.