Old Jewish burial ground in King's Lynn

[hamishsfriend]

The old Jewish burial ground is contained within a small compound, with blocks of flats towering over it. It is surrounded by high brick walls on all four sides. The walls are grade-II listed, the east and north sides dating from the 16th century.

What purpose it originally served is not known but from 1811 until 1846 this compound was in use as a Jewish burial ground.

Were it not for the grille set into the top of the padlocked wooden door leading inside it, casual passers-by would never know what is inside.

The walls shelter 16 headstones, all inscribed in Hebrew. The inscriptions are very weathered and some of the stones are broken. The inscribed sphere-shaped memorial stone is a recent addition.

The key to this burial ground is available at The Old Gaol House museum on Saturday Market Place (open Wed - Sat).

 

[Labb]

Very nice pictures. This is some real history.

 

[smiler]

Nice one Hamishsfriend,
Interesting find, good report and pics plus useful information, couldn’t ask for more. Thanks for Sharing

 

[steptoe]

Intersting bit of info on the Jewish community of Kings Lynn on this site

http://www.jewishgen.org/JCR-UK/community/kingslynn.htm

 

[hamishsfriend]

Intersting bit of info on the Jewish community of Kings Lynn on this site

http://www.jewishgen.org/JCR-UK/community/kingslynn.htm

Thank you, although I'd like to add that the information provided by the International Jewish Cemetery Project (see King's Lynn Cemetery Information link) should be taken with a grain of salt. Their information has, on more than one occasion, proved to be inaccurate. For instance, none of the Jewish headstones they list for Southwold (Suffolk) are Jewish.

Also, according to their description "The cemetery is behind a high brick wall, with a locked iron gate. The graves are clearly visible through the bars of the gate, and many of the tombstones can be read from the street." There is no iron gate but a timber plank door with an iron grille lunette under a semi-circular arch (taken from 'British Listed Buildings'). The stones are very weathered and the Hebrew inscriptions of only three of the sixteen headstones have been fully transcribed, because of the condition they are in. The headstones can be seen but I doubt that any can be read from the street.