Velho Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation of London is a Grade II listed building in the Tower Hamlets local planning authority area, England. First listed on 30 May 1974. Cemetery.
Velho Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation of London
- WRENN ID
- dusk-span-myrtle
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Constituency
- Bethnal Green and Stepney MP: Rushanara Ali (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 30 May 1974
- Type
- Cemetery
- Address
- Velho Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation of London, Mile End Road E1
- OS grid reference
- TQ 357 822
- Coordinates
- 51.5231, -0.04496
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Velho Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation of London, opened in 1657, is the oldest Jewish burial ground in England, established shortly after the Anglo-Jewish resettlement under Oliver Cromwell. It contains burials from 1657 to 1758, featuring a few table tombs, including a group of six in the southwest corner, while most tombstones are laid flat. The earlier inscriptions are in Portuguese, with later ones in Hebrew and English. The stones are primarily limestone, with a few made of marble, arranged to form a paved area with very narrow grass margins between them and a central path. Notable burials include Abraham Fernandes Carvajal, the founder of the Anglo-Jewish community, and two Chief Rabbis, Nieto and Meldola. The cemetery was reopened in 1828 for the burial of Rabbi Meldola, allowing him to be interred at the feet of Rabbi Nieto. The north wall features old brickwork, and there is a tablet in the wall that is listed separately. The Jewish cemeteries form a group situated between Mile End Road and Alderney Road.
Local climate
Velho Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation of London sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 52% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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