Restoration work is to begin at the 18th century Jewish cemetery in Penzance (Cornwall), England thanks to a £13,000 grant from the national lottery.
The Cornishman reports that “BOD Heritage Limited, which owns the cemetery, has received a £13,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as money from the Jewish community, Cornish grant making organizations and donations by descendants of those interred at the site.” Costs for the project earlier were estimated to be £20,000.
The Cornishman article said the funds will be used “to renew and restore the cemetery’s walls, entrance area and floor with local craftsmen employed to carry out the work on the historic grade two listed structure.”
It quoted Mandy Pearce, secretary of the Friends of the Penzance Jewish Cemetery, as saying: “We are absolutely delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund and others have provided the funds and that the work to repair the cemetery’s structure will begin early in 2015.”
We reported in December 2013 about the launch of the fund-raising campaign for the cemetery. ITV news in England ran a video report on the drive.
The last Jews in Penzance moved away in around 1913. The long-disused cemetery, accessed via a passage between 19 and 20 Leskinnick Terrace, is owned by the Jewish Board of Deputies (BOD) but is maintained by the Penzance town clerk’s office and Penlee House Museum and Gallery.
The Cornishman article does not seem to be online (as of 2019). Read report about the grant on the Jewish community of Cornwal web site