Jewish medieval cemetery discovered beneath Barbican (Picture: Instagram)
A medieval Jewish cemetery was found hidden beneath the Barbican after hundreds of years.
Volunteer group The Jewish Square Mile is drawing attention to the cemetery next to the remains of an ancient wall in the Thomas More Garden.
It was the first Jewish burial ground in England and existed until Jews were expelled from England in 1290, after which the cemetery was desecrated and neglected.
Howard and Gaby Morris, founder members of the The Jewish Square Mile project, told Jewish News: ‘The burial ground existed as a rumour, a legend.’
‘Now the ancient burial ground has been found. Gaby and I heard the story when we moved into the Barbican but it was Father Jack Noble of St Giles Cripplegate, the very old church actually in the Barbican (where Oliver Cromwell was married) who, by word of mouth, drew together a group of Jewish residents to find out if there really was a cemetery and its location.’
The project is now comprised of people of all faiths and none including a medievalist historian and writer, researchers, an architect, plus musicians and composers.
The Barbican cemetery was the first Jewish burial ground in England(Picture: @the_jewish_square_mile/Instagram)
Howard says: ‘The Jews were brought to London by William soon after the Norman occupation. They weren’t free but lived under the protection of William. They didn’t even own the hair on their heads.’
‘They were permitted a place to bury their dead according to our customs and beliefs. That must have given them some sense of permanence and community.’
The goal of the Jewish Square Mile project is to ‘rediscover those people, their lives and the contribution they made to the City.’
The group aim is to move away from anti-Semitic stereotypes ‘help show the impact and contribution of Jewish Londoners then and since” and in so doing “move on from the stereotypes of medieval Jews like Isaac and Rebecca in Ivanhoe or Shylock, as usurers.’
On 5 June next year the project will launch a two week-long exhibition in the church of St. Giles
(Picture: @the_jewish_square_mile/Instagram)
On 5 June the project will launch a two week-long exhibition in the church of St. Giles, and will unveil of a plaque in the Barber-Surgeons’ Garden.
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A Jewish choir will perform at the Moat Theatre of the City of London School for Girls.
Howard Morris added: ‘The exhibition will go far beyond simply identifying the location of the cemetery and the dates of its history. We will bring the medieval Jewish community to life, show the contribution they made to the success of the City following the conquest of England by William and over the next 200 years until Edward I expelled the Jews from the country.’
‘We’ll cover …read more
Source:: Metro
