Tomb of Rosalind Franklin is a Grade II listed building in the Brent local planning authority area, England. First listed on 7 March 2017. Tomb.

Tomb of Rosalind Franklin

WRENN ID
under-span-vale
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Brent
Constituency
Brent East MP: Dawn Butler (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
7 March 2017
Type
Tomb
Address
Tomb of Rosalind Franklin, United Synagogue Cemetery, Beaconsfield Road, London, NW10 2JE
OS grid reference
TQ 220 845
Coordinates
51.5468, -0.24102
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Tomb of Rosalind Franklin, built in 1958, is located in the Willesden United Synagogue Jewish Cemetery. It can be found within the Franklin family enclosure in the north-eastern part of the cemetery, approximately 38 meters east of the funerary prayer hall complex.

The tomb is made of grey-veined white marble and features a horizontal rectangular tablet in two stages. The tablet has an incised inscription that reads: ‘IN MEMORY OF / ROSALIND ELSIE FRANKLIN / [Hebrew lettering here represents the Hebrew name of the deceased] / DEARLY LOVED ELDER DAUGHTER OF / ELLIS AND MURIEL FRANKLIN / 25TH JULY 1920 – 16TH APRIL 1958 / SCIENTIST / HER RESEARCH AND DISCOVERIES ON / VIRUSES REMAIN OF LASTING BENEFIT / TO MANKIND / [Hebrew lettering here represents an abbreviation of 1 Samuel, 25:29, ‘May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life’ (this inscription is frequently found on Jewish tombstones)].

Notably, the inscription does not mention her significant contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA, as the importance of that discovery was not widely recognized at the time of her death.

Local climate

Tomb of Rosalind Franklin sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 94% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 51% 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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  1. Complex of Funerary Buildings at Willesden Jewish Cemetery (United Synagogue Cemetery) Grade II 45 m
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  4. Burial enclosures of Mayer, Juliana and Hannah Rothschild in Willesden Jewish Cemetery (United Synagogue Cemetery) Grade II 162 m
  5. Willesden Liberal Jewish Cemetery War Memorial Grade II 405 m
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