A civic group is working to restore the memory of a 1,000-year-old Jewish cemetery in London that has lain all but forgotten since the 13th century and is now buried under the sprawling Barbican residential estate and arts centre. Activities include regular guided tours of the area, and a planned exhibition, festival and installation of informational signage next June.
The cemetery in question is believed to have been established before the year 1100, outside the city wall that surrounded what was then London. It functioned until the Jews were expelled from England in 1290. “Until 1177 the cemetery is the sole permitted Jewish burial ground in England,” the Jewish Square Mile project states on its web site.
The project aims “to reveal and celebrate the history of the Jewish Cemetery and the Jewish people who lived in medieval London […] Our aims are to show the contributions of this diverse community then, and after Jews were invited to return to England in 1656.”
It wants to counter stereotypes of medieval Jews that appear in works of literature such as Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
The Jewish Square Mile group grew out of informal discussions over tea, hosted at his rectory by Reverend Canon Jack Noble, the rector of St Giles-without-Cripplegate church which is located within the Barbican Estate.
The Barbican was built on an area that had been leveled by German bombing during WW2. A Brutalist architectural icon that is something of a city within the city, it is today home to some 4,000 residents and also includes schools, a church, a library, an artificial lake, and a conservatory; it also has a major multi-venue arts and performance centre.
“Intrigued by the legend of the medieval Jewish cemetery by the City’s Wall, Fr Jack invited Jews living in and around the Barbican area to discuss the mystery and to see if light could be shed on the stories,” the London Square Mile project states. The group grew to include a number of Jewish and non-Jewish professionals who live and work in and around the Barbican area.
“I initiated this project and gathered the beginnings of what would become the Jewish Square Mile team over tea in St Giles’ Rectory, because it was so clear that this was important, and needed responding too. It came as a surprise to many of them!” Noble told the Jewish News.
A major goal of the project is simply to raise awareness of the Jewish history of medieval London. Jewish Square Mile walking tours take place on a regular basis.
The project is now in the planning stage for a major two-week exhibit and festival set to open in St. Giles church on June 5, 2025. Events will include the unveiling of informational and commemorative signage about the cemetery and the medieval Jewish history of the area.
“The site of the cemetery must be respected and physically marked and the Jewish history and heritage given appropriate emphasis in the City’s history and its presentation of its history to visitors,” Project co-founded Howard Morris told JHE. “We have worked with representatives of the City of London over the past year and have reason to believe that the City of London supports us in this ambition.”
He said the team had used documentation to establish the location of the cemetery, but to date no technology such as ground-penetrating radar had been employed.
Click to access the Jewish Square Mile web site