A historic Jewish cemetery in Leeds has closed after engineers branded it dangerous. Leeds Jewish Orthodox Cemeteries (LJOC) has been forced to close Hill Top Cemetery due to subsidence causing the ground to collapse.
The structural problems are thought to be due to the Gildersome site lying over a labyrinth of coal mining tunnels and mine shafts. No further burials will take place at the cemetery, which dates back to 1873.
LJOC chairman, Dan Cohen, said, “We are incredibly upset that we have had to take this action. We obviously apologize for the inevitable distress this may cause but I am certain the Jewish community will understand that it was a decision taken only when no other options existed. The most important thing is the safety of visitors visiting the site.”
Two years ago a grave, including the gravestone, collapsed prompting the site to be closed down temporarily while repair work was carried out.
It was reopened in June 2007 but, since then, the LJOC says there has been further significant subsidence at the cemetery, creating dangerous conditions. The organization says it was forced to seal off the site as the Coal Authority could not guarantee the safety of the grounds. Mr. Cohen added: “The hope is that at some point in the future we may be able to revisit the situation but until we can be assured that these collapses are not going to happen again, we cannot.”
In an announcement to the Jewish community, the LJOC said: “We must close the Hill Top Cemetery, with immediate effect and on a permanent basis. No person may now enter the grounds and anybody doing so will be regarded as a trespasser. Such a person would be risking serious injury or death for which the LJOC cannot be held responsible or liable. Any person affected by this decision is asked to consult their synagogue president and rabbi.”
The Coal Authority was established by Parliament in 1994 and among its duties are the handling of subsidence damage claims which are not the responsibility of licensed coal mine operators and dealing with property and historic liability issues.
A spokesman said the matter was being investigated.
(Source: YorkShire Evening Post)
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My great-grandparents & an aunt are buried somewhere in that cemetery. My father A”H, who is buried in Gildersome, could never find their graves. My mother, zol zei gezunt, says it’s impossible to even get up there. And from what I understand, there are no records & it has been badly neglected for decades. So what will happen to the graves now? Based on the disrespect shown in the other Leeds cemeteries, it will be disaster on top of disaster. Unless there are family members who take responsibility, graves are literally falling apart. There’s no such thing as perpetual care there.