A Place Full of Stories - East London's Novo Jewish Cemetery

The Novo Cemetery in Mile End is just a ten-minutes walk from my home. I have lived here for almost twenty years but it is only very recently that I "discovered" the cemetery through the Discovering and Documenting England's Lost Jews project. Established in 1733 and now tucked away within the grounds of Queen Mary University, the cemetery has been the resting place of some very prominent people. Champion boxer Daniel Mendoza was buried here as was Benjamin Disraeli whose grandson of the same name became Britain's first Prime Minister of Jewish heritage, famed comic actor David James (David Belasco) and Diego Pereira who served as financier to the Austrian Empress, Maria Theresa. It is fascinating to think that these illustrious characters were buried just a short walk from where I now sit.

Grave of Orovida Abigail Bensusan

It has also been the final resting place of the less well known, including tailors, rag merchants, quill pen makers and feather makers who lived and worked in the once predominantly Jewish East End and were eventually buried here. I wonder if any of the traders mentioned in my recent post on Sclater Street were laid to rest in the Novo Cemetery.

 

The graveyard itself has quite a story. In 1656, after an absence of almost 400 years, the presence of Jews in England was accepted but not officially recognised. In the same year, a small synagogue was established in Creechurch Lane in the City of London and in 1657 a piece of land was purchased in the then rural Mile End, for use as a burial ground. Over the next several years as this predominantly Sephardi community became more established and expanded in size a larger cemetery was needed and in 1726 an additional piece of land was leased for this purpose. A short distance form the original burial ground it was named the Nuevo (new) Cemetery and the former site became known as the Velho (old) cemetery. The first burials took place in the Novo in 1733.

Nature has begun to take over some of the gravestones

Over the next century London's Jewish population continued to grown and in 1855 it was necessary to purchase a further 1.7 acres of land to accommodate its needs. By 1899 the cemetery held about 9000 graves. At this point, the Sephardi community began to drift away from this part of London and a new cemetery was established in Golders Green. In 1906 the Novo was closed for adult burials and in 1918 for children. Despite this, occasional internments took place into the 1970's.

In 1973 about 7000 bodies were disinterred from the pre 1855 site and reburied in a communal grave in Essex, leaving about 2,000 graves in place. This was because the expanding Queen Mary College, now a University, required additional space and an agreement was reached between the Sephardi community and the College to transfer part of the burial ground to College ownership. Daniel Mendoza was one of those disinterred and this great Jewish and British sporting hero now lies unacknowledged in a shared pit.

Hands signify the grave of a Cohen 

A life cut short

Books may indicate that the deceased was a scholar 

Wandering through the cemetery on a crisp, cold winter's afternoon I was struck by how much cemeteries can tell us about the communities they serve and how many stories are waiting to be unlocked from them with just a little research. As already noted, the Novo Cemetery is a Sephardi burial ground and this is evidenced by the Spanish and Portuguese names marked on almost every one of the gravestones as well as by the tradition of laying the stones flat rather than upright. This is to remind us that regardless of our status in life, in death we are equal. Some gravestones carry visual clues to the lives of the deceased. An image of hands usually denotes that the person is a Cohen, that is, of the priestly caste and that they can claim to be descended from Aaron, brother of the the Biblical prophet Moses. Images of books may indicate that the deceased was a scholar or rabbi, whilst a tree or a tree being cut down means that a life was cut short. Candlesticks are sometimes carved into the headstones of women as a reference to their responsibility for lighting candles on Shabbat. 

Non-Jewish visitors may wonder why there are small stones or pebbles on many of the graves. Various explanations are given for this including the belief that the soul of the deceased remains near the body for a while after death and that rocks will prevent it from leaving too soon. There may also be practical reasons for this tradition. In Biblical times burials would take place under a pile of rocks rather than a heavy slab and so the placing of stones on graves in the modern era may be a reflection of this. Today it indicates that someone has visited the grave.

It is important to note that although all of those buried here are from the Sephardi community, not everyone came from Spanish or Portuguese family backgrounds. A whole row of graves is given over to the illustrious Sassoon family who originated from Baghdad in Iraq and became one of the world's foremost merchant families over several generations with business interests in  Bombay (today Mumbai), Shanghai and Hong Kong. Amongst others, Flora Sassoon, wife of David Sassoon founder of the dynasty and former leader of Bombay's once substantial Jewish community, (nee Farha Hyeem) is buried here.  

Grave of Flora Sassoon (nee Farha Hyeem)

Cemeteries have always been important sources of information for historians but today the little bit of information contained on a headstone can lead us on the most fascinating of virtual journeys via the internet. The stone pictured at the top of this post is that of Orovida Abigail Bensusan who died on 30th July 1912 aged 69. We can learn from it that she was the daughter of Samuel and Esther, that she probably never married (no other family name is given other than that of her parents) and the quote from Proverbs indicates that she was well thought of and did not need praise.

"Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates". 

A little research reveals many interesting details about her and her family. Both parents were born in Gibraltar which remans home to a significant Jewish community today. Although I have not been able to find out when the family came to London, the 1871 census shows Esther, Orovida's mother, living in Lambeth. By 1881 she was living in Penge not far from the site of the Crystal Palace, which perhaps indicates that the family had become more prosperous. 

Although Orovida appears not to have married, according to the Ancestry website, she did have a child with one Abraham Corcos, a merchant born in Oran, Algeria in 1810. He was father to at least nine children, some of them born in Algeria and Morocco, and who had three different family names between them. Orovida and Abraham's daughter, Esther Corcos was born in London in 1873. Details of Orovida's life after the birth of Esther are sketchy until 1911 when it is known that was living in Stamford Brook, Chiswick with her niece Esther (daughter of Orovida's brother Jacob) and her niece's husband...famed French artist Camille Pissarro. Orovida was clearly a much loved aunt as the couple named their only daughter after her. Orovida Camille Pissarro was herself to become a distinguished artist studying with her father and then with Walter Sickert before rejecting their styles in favour of Chinese and other Asian techniques.  Her works can be found in the collections of both the Tate and the Royal Academy.

The Novo Cemetery is full of stories like that of Orovida Abigail Bensusan and whilst not everyone will have had links with world famous artists, discovering their personal histories will be  just as interesting. The website of the Discovering and Documenting England's Lost Jews project includes testimony from Jews with Sephardi heritage, more details about the history of the cemetery and stories of some of those buried there. The cemetery is open to visitors and is a short stroll from either Mile End or Stepney Green Underground stations.  

You might also like Sclater Street - full of history and a hot spot for street Photography or Whitechapel Library - University of the Ghetto

Whitechapel Library - University of the Ghetto

Twenty two London public libraries and cultural facilities have borne the name of Victorian journalist, philanthropist and politician John Passmore Edwards (1823-1911). His particular interest in funding public libraries may have been due to his reportedly having access to few books as a child. The first London library he funded was the former Whitechapel Library, now absorbed into Whitechapel Art Gallery at 77-82 Whitechapel High Street.

It opened its doors on 9th May 1892, the construction costs of £6454 being fully provided by Passmore Edwards but this was not the first attempt to provide a public library in this part of London. The Public Libraries Act of 1850 had followed a Select Committee report that suggested libraries could be used to steer people towards "temperate and moderate habits". Despite strong opposition to the Act from some MPs, it was eventually passed. The Act allowed for levying a charge on the rates of a half-penny in the £ in order to ensure continued funding. Such proposals had to be put to the vote locally before a free public library could be established and in 1878 the voters of Whitechapel rejected adopting the legislation, opposed to providing a facility "...wherein idle people may enjoy themselves".

Samuel Barnett, social reformer and Vicar of St. Jude's Church and his wife Henrietta, co-founder of Toynbee Hall campaigned for a library in Whitechapel but in 1891 Passmore Edwards came forward with the necessary sum.  A site was identified and architects Potts, Son and Hemmings were engaged to design the building. Initial services included a closed-access lending service, separate reading rooms for boys and girls and a reference library. Closed access meant that readers had to ask a member of staff to check the availability of books for them rather than having direct access to the stock. This was common practice in the early days of public libraries. There was also a museum of the natural history collections of the Reverend Dan Greatorex who had earlier established small collections of books on merchant ships for the use of the seamen.

Impressive hours of service were offered, including Sunday afternoons and late opening until 10pm. A programme of talks and lectures was held and schools were able to borrow items from the museum. Modern technology meant that the building had its own generator so as not be dependant on an external energy supply. Formal opening took place on 25th October 1892 with Lord Roseberry, Foreign Secretary and Chairman of the London County Council as the guest of honour.

By the end of 1892, there were 2,500 members including actors, comedians, diamond cutters, lard refiners, leather merchants, at least three journalists and my favourite, "ladies with no occupation given". This impressive list tells only part of the story of the library's role in its community which by 1914 is said to have included 90% of the total Jewish population of the UK. Evidence of its impact is borne out by the stellar list of writers, artists and future academics who made use of it during their youth. It is known that artist Mark Gertler borrowed art books from the library and practised drawing in the reading room. Fellow Whitechapel Boy David Bomberg was also a user.

Playwright Arnold Wesker used the library as a child and later spoke about borrowing and enjoying The Wind In The Willows. Fellow playwright and novelist Bernard Kops was also a regular user and loved the place so much he wrote a poem in its honour as well as a play set within the building. Child psychologist and author of The Ascent Of Man, Jacob Bronowski studied there and mathematician Selig Brodetsky learned English in the library. Born in Russia and one of thirteen children, Brodetsky had a fine career in academia. He studied at Cambridge, lectured at Bristol University, held a chair in Applied Mathematics at the University of Leeds and for a time was President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. East End chroniclers Simon Blumenfeld and Willy Goldman also studied there.

Perhaps the most famous former user was poet and painter Isaac Rosenberg. The child of poor Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, he was also the author of some of the most famous poetry to emerge from the First World War and was tragically killed in action on 1st April 1918. He is memorialised with a Blue Plaque on the exterior of the building. The achievements of Rosenberg and other writers and artists led to the library being referred to as the university of the ghetto.  Most of the users would have lived in dark, overcrowded and noisy conditions with no space for quiet study, reading or reflection. The library provided this and enabled some of them to go on to great things whilst to others it was a place to find peace and cultural enrichment. Lack of space at home remains one of the main reasons why people come to public libraries today and competition for study space can be fierce.

In 1900 the library came under the auspices of the former Metropolitan Borough of Stepney. Over the next few decades a large collection of Judaica was developed, lending became open access in 1922 and in 1930 a children's library was established in the basement.  Aldgate East Underground Station lies beneath the building and in 1937 a street level entrance to the Tube was inserted into the facade. The East End was severely bombed during the Second World War and damage was sustained to the second floor in 1940. From the late 1940's onwards the neighbourhood began to change with the large Jewish community moving away and being replaced by newcomers, particularly from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh which until 1971 was part of Pakistan.

Levels of use fell in the decades following the War and when I first visited in the early 1990's the building was in a poor state of repair and in need of investment. By this time, Whitechapel was under the control of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest areas in the city and one whose library service was amongst the least used in London. The Council undertook a re-branding exercise, closing some libraries and opening a series of modern, purpose built Idea Stores, combining library services with adult education and expanded access to technology. Whitechapel Library was closed in 2005 and was replaced by the much larger and more strategically located Idea Store, close to Whitechapel Station, a street market and the area's main shopping facilities. On the last day of service, an evening event was held to commemorate the contribution of the library to the local community. It featured performances by Anna Tzelniker, the last active performer of the once great Yiddish theatre and a reading by Bernard Kops of  his poem, Whitechapel Library, Aldgate East.

The building received Grade II listed status in 1990. After closure it was acquired by the neighbouring Whitechapel Art Gallery which also has a long tradition of serving the local community and has exhibited works by the aforementioned Gertler, Bomberg and Rosenberg. On a personal note, most of my career was spent working in and managing public libraries. Researching for this post I realised that at different times I either worked in or was responsible for six of Passmore Edwards' London libraries. Is this a record?

Perhaps the last word should go to Bernard Kops.

You might also like Whitechapel Road - The Working Lads' Institute