Dalston Jewish cemetery to be restored following National Lottery grant

One of Britain’s oldest Jewish cemeteries is set to undergo a major restoration thanks to a £190k grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The nearly 200-year-old Balls Pond Cemetery in Dalston, east London, is the oldest Reform burial ground in the UK.

Built in 1843 and owned by the West London Synagogue of British Jews (WLS), for nearly 200 years the Victorian cemetery saw over 1,000 people buried in its grounds.

Notable graves include Amy Levy, a poet and novelist and the first Jewish woman at Cambridge University, Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, the co-founder of University College London (UCL), and James Joseph Sylvester, a mathematician famed for his work on the matrix theory.

Its prayer room was bombed during World War Two, but the rest of the site is said to be still intact amid overgrown grass and ivy, as well as crumbling walls.

The cemetery held its final burial in 1951 and has been closed to the public ever since.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded a joint grant to Islington Council and WLS for renovations. The £190,731 cash injection will kickstart a restoration of the Grade II-listed site and make it a cultural and educational resource.

The planned upgrades include memorial restoration, improved access via better entryways, biodiversity surveys, and public engagement activities, including education programmes for local schools.

It will also shine a light on the thinkers, writers, philanthropists and scientists buried at the cemetery.

President of WLS, Andrew Stone, said: "We aim to revitalise the cemetery, engage the local community and bring attention to an often-overlooked part of British-Jewish history. This project is not just about preservation - it’s about restoring a vital community asset and ensuring the site becomes a resource that benefits all communities."

He added, "This project will be the start of a longer-term plan to restore an historic and fascinating cemetery, which is an important part of our British-Jewish Heritage."

Stone thanked The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Islington Council, saying: "We welcome the educational, community engagement and other benefits which will follow. We are grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and to our partner Islington Council, for their efforts in getting us to this stage."

Islington Council councillor Jenny Kay said: “We aim to revitalise the cemetery, engage the local community and bring attention to an often-overlooked part of British-Jewish history.

“This project is not just about preservation - it’s about restoring a vital community asset and ensuring the site becomes a resource that benefits all communities.”

She added, “This grant marks a significant milestone in our partnership with the West London Synagogue.”

The council’s deputy leader, Santiago Bell-Bradford, said: "Here in Islington, we’re proud to be a borough with such a rich history, and we’re committed to celebrating and embracing that history.

“Balls Pond Road Cemetery is the final resting place of influential Jewish thinkers, and this funding will help bring their stories to life."

For more information: www.bprcemetery.com