Lauriston Road Jewish Cemetery, the lodge, gates and piers facing Lauriston Road and portion of the walling to the south of the graveyard

Lauriston Road Jewish Cemetery, Lodge, Gates and Piers

A Jewish cemetery that received its first burial in 1788 and was extended in 1852. The lodge building, walls, railings and gates date from 1870 and were designed by HH Collins.

The cemetery covers slightly less than an acre and is approximately rectangular in shape. The boundary walls are constructed of early-19th-century, later-19th-century and 20th-century brick and rendered brick, with two portions of wooden fencing. The lodge is built of Flemish bond brick with a slate roof and painted stone and timber dressings. The low western wall is of brick, supporting cast iron railings and gates.

The entrance and lodge are positioned at the western end, with the lodge in the north-western corner. A central drive runs eastwards from the western entrance but is overlain by some graves and dies out roughly half way along the length of the plot. The site of the demolished ohel now forms part of the driveway at its western end. The burial area contains straight rows of graves all facing towards the western entrance, arranged in grassy plots. London plane trees are grouped at the western end and the southern side.

The walling to the southern side at its eastern end appears to be of 18th or early-19th-century date and is built of London stock brick laid in Flemish bond with a coping of bricks laid in soldier courses. This walling has a series of square stones inset which carry inscribed numbers indicating grave rows, starting at the eastern end with '7' and continuing until '15' which is inset into a buttress. Other walling appears to be later, including 20th-century walls which form parts of buildings to the eastern side (number 9, Louisa Close) and north (9 and 10, Shafton Road).

Tombstones are grouped at the northern and eastern areas where synagogue members were buried, with earlier burials at the eastern end. The western area has smaller headstones or unmarked graves forming the 'strangers' section, where those who were not paid-up members of the synagogue were buried, including paupers. The earliest grave markers are relatively modest headstones with round or shouldered heads of Portland stone or Ketlin stone. Later stones are of Yorkshire or Cumberland stone, with some slate examples.

To the northern side of the central path is a grouping of impressive mid-19th-century monuments to members of the Jones family, all dating from after 1852. These begin with a pair of Portland stone monuments of 1852 and 1856, square on plan, with Corinthian columns to their corners and draped urns as finials. Following in a line extending to the west are four granite sarcophagi standing on plinths and carved with lion's feet, with a granite obelisk at their centre. All of these Jones monuments are surrounded by iron railings including flame finials and cross bars with a rope pattern. Elsewhere, 19th-century tombs include chest and ledger tombs. Inscriptions are generally in Hebrew for earlier tombs with a greater use of English appearing later. Symbols include hands raised in blessing of the Cohanim, crowns indicating a virtuous life and felled trees for a life cut short. Lettering is carved and occasionally filled with lead after the mid-19th century.

The lodge, walls, railings and gates at the western end appear to have been built at one date. The lodge entrance front has painted stone and brindle brick dressings and carved timber brackets at eaves level. All windows have been replaced by uPVC substitutes. A projecting wing at the left has a segmental head to the window at ground-floor level and an arch-headed window projecting up into the gable of the first floor. To the right are two bays with cambered heads to both floors. In the re-entrant angle is a porch with hipped roof. At right again and slightly recessed is a single-storey bay with hipped roof. This formerly had a doorway at its centre, but this has now been removed and bricked up, with the exception of the keystone and springers of the arched door head which remain. The southern flank of this single-storey range has three windows with cambered heads. The rear has a blocked window and doorway to the far left in the walling of the single-storey portion. At right of this the two-storey portion has a doorway flanked by windows at ground floor left and a single window to its right. At first-floor level are two windows with flat heads and above are twinned gables.

Attached to the southern side of the entrance porch on the western entrance front is low brick walling supporting cast iron railings and gates with brick piers. The piers are square on plan and have stone caps with pyramidal tops. The central drive gates are flanked by a pedestrian gate to each side. All have dog bars to their lower body and individual panels have arched tops with spear heads. The runs of railings at either side sit on low walls with cast iron coping panels.