On the first Sunday of each month, there is a guided tour of the synagogue, an imposing domed building designed in predominantly Moorish style by the Swiss architect Jean-Henri Bachofen and built in 1857-59.
Join curator Hester Abrams for a tour that brings to life the stories of women who made their mark in science, medicine, government, the High Street and the arts, from Rosalind Franklin to H Samuel.
Willesden Jewish Cemetery reopens as multifaceted place of public heritage — the House of Life: an example of how Jewish cemeteries can be integrated into tourism while respecting the sanctity of the place
If offers guided tours, lectures, an exhibit in a new visitors’ center, and other public programming.
It respects its sanctity as a burial site but enables visitors to explore Jewish history and heritage, as well as learn about the lives of the many Jewish personalities buried there and engage with issues related to death, funeral traditions, and funerary art.
See cemetery web site for more details — http://www.willesdenjewishcemetery.org.uk
Click to read our article about it
The Festival brings together both the work of the National Lottery Heritage project “Connecting Small Histories” and 12 other major Jewish Heritage projects.
“Connecting Small Histories” draws the footprint of Jewish life in what are now small or former communities across the United Kingdom. Through stories and memories it identifies the Jewish legacy in the local economies and culture, beginning with six very different locations, Eastbourne, St Annes, Bradford, Sunderland, Cumbria and Somerset.
After almost twelve months of work, the History Festival begins the telling of these “Small Histories”, bringing both them and a wide selection of projects from the project’s Heritage Hub to a wider public.
The program brings together story tellers, academics, our volunteer researchers and the research team, to paint a picture of Jewish life and heritage spread wide across the country, in towns and countryside.
Jewish Heritage Europe is delighted to be one of the partners of this event!
Click here to see the program and register for the online events
A round-table discussion, plus optional walking tours through the “invisible” medieval Jewish history of Winchester. The Roundtable is free, the walking tours — at 10:30-11:30am or 11:30-12:30pm, cost £5.
The event event focuses on Licoricia of Winchester and the heritage and memory of medieval Anglo-Jewry.
The bronze statue of the remarkable Anglo-Jewish woman, Licoricia, was unveiled in Winchester in 2021. This is the most prominent heritage work carried out relating to medieval Anglo- Jewry.
The event, through a walking tour (£5) and free round table discussion, will consider the achievements of the Licoricia project, and the challenges of creating heritage in the absence of the built heritage that directly reflects the presence of medieval Winchester Jewry. It will also consider the public and educational issues raised when dealing with questions such as the Jewish role in medieval finance and hostile representations of Jews from the period based on religious bigotry. Addressing the key aims of the Licoricia project, participants will explore the potential of such commemoration to consider the roots of prejudice and discrimination, using this to promote tolerance, diversity, and female empowerment.
Please note that if you wish to attend both the walking tour and the roundtable event, you will need to register for each event separately.
Click here for booking and other details
Willesden Jewish Cemetery: 150 years of Heritage 1873 – 2023 Guided Walk
As part of the year long celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Willesden Jewish Cemetery, this guided walk will tell the story of the establishment of the cemetery, highlighting the early years of the United Synagogue, the people who made it happen and their role in the community.
The Willesden Jewish cemetery celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
This will be one of the main events. The cemetery says:
View our new exhibition of archives in the Heritage Centre
• Have a look at the display in the historic grade II listed portico, highlighting some key stories of those buried here
• Enjoy the permanent exhibition and introductory film in the Heritage Centre
• Take a stroll in our transformed historic gardens with a new emphasis on biodiversity!
• Join us on a new free guided walk at 2.30 pm when we will reveal the early history of this unique Cemetery and the people behind its creation
This is a special occasion for our community to celebrate this important milestone. Throughout the afternoon our volunteers will be on hand to share their knowledge of Willesden Jewish Cemetery, Jewish traditions and culture.
Photo exhibition by Rudolf Klein, author of the book Metropolitan Jewish Cemeteries — which will be presented at the opening.
The opening takes place February 21, at 7 p.m.
There will be speeches by Klein and others.
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