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Alderney Road Cemetery, Mile End
Hidden among the
gentrified squares behind Queen Mary's College, Mile End is an almost
invisible Jewish landmark - the oldest Ashkenazi cemetery in the UK.
This beautiful and sacred place was acquired in 1696 by Benjamin
Levy (died 1705), and contains the graves of the humble and the famous.
Several celebrated rabbis are buried here - including the 'Baal Shem' of
London Samuel Falk (died in 1782) and Chief Rabbi David Tevele Schiff
who (died in 1791). The graves of Samuel Falk and David Schiff are
still visited by the devout, and prayers are offered at their
gravesides. Samuel Falk was a Cabbalist of great renown. An
elderly lady I met when I visited told me she often meditated at his grave when she
had a problem.
Meanwhile see what others have said about
Rabbi Samuel Falk in the extract below from Arthur Barnett's book 'The Western
Synagogue through two centuries 1761 - 1961' published by Vallentine Mitchell,
London 1961. This is what Arthur Barnett says:
"A brief word may be interpolated here concerning this
picturesque but enigmatic figure (Samuel Falk) He was allegedly a miracle
working rabbi, born about 1708 in Germany where he narrowly escaped being burned
as a wizard and whence he came to London about 1740 and gained a remarkable
reputation in distinguished circles, both Jewish and non-Jewish, for his reputed
magic powers. He was probably a follower of that deluded sect founded by the
false Messiah, Sabbatai Zevi; and doubtless was equally a charlatan. Purported
mystic and Cabbalist, he seems to have successfully worked on the credulity of
otherwise quite sound minded and hard headed people, in the process of which he
gathered considerable wealth. But whether sorcerer or saint, some of the early
figures in our story (the story of the Western Synagogue) seem to have been
included in a little coterie centred around this extraordinary 'Rabbi Dr'' Hayim
Samuel Jacob de Falk"
The cemetery closed in 1852 but is still
lovingly maintained. Click your way through the
photos below to see some of the sites. Double click all photos to
enlarge.
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A gem lies hidden behind this high wall in
a quiet back street in Mile End |
Go through this door into a
magic land |
The grave of Kabbalist Rabbi
Samuel Falk, died 1782 |
The tombstone of Rabbi Saul
Berlin, son of Hart Lyon - Chief |
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| Memorial stone naming the
great and the good buried in this place |
The Grave of Miclah the wife
of Cossel Jonas, died Sept 4th 5569, aged 64 |
An view of the Eastern corner
of the cemetery |
The tombstone of Rabbi Saul
Berlin, son of Hart Lyon - Chief Rabbi 1756-1764 |
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| Note the timely reminder of
our mortality carved into the side of this tomb |
Looking South West |
A Cohen is buried here (note
the hands making the sign of the priestly blessing (live long and prosper as
Mr Spock would say!) |
The Western corner of the
cemetery |
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| The Eastern side of the site |
The path linking one the
Western side with the Eastern side of the cemetery |
An elderly Jewish resident
and a wonderful character living just inside the grounds |
Raised graves (Sephardim
perhaps?) |
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