Description
Plashet Jewish Cemetery was opened by the United Synagogue Company in 1896 on a rectangular site, simply laid out on a grid pattern. Originally there was a central prayer hall, which was demolished following bomb damage, but a small brick building is sited just inside the main entrance. The tombstones are generally in straight rows and surrounded by gravel, and while most are simple, among them are monuments topped with columns and urns, and a few family plots set with balustrades. The cemetery was known as the Trade Unionists Cemetery and past secretaries of the Cigars Union and Costermongers Union are buried here.
Practical Information
| Site location | 361 High Street North, Manor Park |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E12 6PQ |
| What3Words | ///peanut.album.spirit |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Newham |
| Open to Public | By appointment only |
| Opening Times | Contact the Burial Society on 020 8518 2868 in advance, who will then make arrangements to unlock the gates at an agreed time. |
| Public Transport | Tube: East Ham (District/Hammersmith & City). Bus: 101, 104, 147, 238, 300, 325. |
| Research Updated | 24 March 2026 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The land for the cemetery was purchased in 1888, although it was not until 1896 that Plashet Jewish Cemetery opened. The former entrance lodge is no longer in cemetery use. The only greenery is an avenue of small, pollarded chestnut trees, some now dead, which line the main path through the graveyard. Among those buried here was Sir John De Villiers, knighted for his work in connection with the Venezuelan - Surinam frontier negotiations, and librarian and Deputy Keeper of Printed Books and Head of the Map Room at the British Museum.
The cemetery has 48 graves of those who died in WWI, recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These include 40 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war and 2 German burials.
The cemetery suffered serious vandalism in May 2003 when 386 tombstones were vandalised. The cemetery has been closed since at least 2010, only opening by appointment. It is one of three Jewish cemeteries established in Newham, the others being West Ham Jewish Cemetery (1858-1965) and East Ham Jewish Cemetery (q.q.v.), the later the only one remaining open.
The cemetery has 48 graves of those who died in WWI, recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These include 40 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war and 2 German burials.
The cemetery suffered serious vandalism in May 2003 when 386 tombstones were vandalised. The cemetery has been closed since at least 2010, only opening by appointment. It is one of three Jewish cemeteries established in Newham, the others being West Ham Jewish Cemetery (1858-1965) and East Ham Jewish Cemetery (q.q.v.), the later the only one remaining open.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ420848 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 5.67 |
| Site Ownership | The United Synagogue |
| Site Management | The United Synagogue |
| Dates | 1896 |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Newham |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Woodgrange Park Cemetery was established in 1889 by the Tottenham Park Cemetery Company, and has remained in private ownership. Its red brick Gothic chapel is now derelict. Despite the opposition of the Friends of Woodgrange Park Cemetery, a group set up in 1980 to protect and preserve the cemetery, the eastern part was sold off for a private housing development by Badgehurst Ltd, although an Act of Parliament required a sum to be re-invested in the cemetery. Within the cemetery are 187 Commonwealth War Graves for those who died in both world wars.
Plashet Park was first opened in 1891, from land that was taken from the former grounds of late 18th Century manor, Wood House. The layout of the 7.57 hectare site has largely remained how it was during the Victorian era, although some features, including its bandstand and drinking fountains, have now gone. New facilities were added over the years, and the plant nursery and green houses later became Plashet Zoo where birds were first kept in 1964, but that has subsequently closed too. The park still includes a Bowling Green, Cafe and various sporting facilities. The Grade II listed Passmore Edwards Library was opened in 1899 adjacent to the south east corner entrance of the park and although no longer a library has various community uses.
Before the stone church was built here in the C12th, it appears to have been the site of an earlier Saxon-Norman timber church. Originally called Ilford, the parish was later renamed Little Ilford to distinguish it from Great Ilford. The small church of St Mary the Virgin was rebuilt in the early C18th and stands on a corner site with a clinker and brick wall on Church Road and a low concrete post fence on Winifrede's Avenue, planted with a may hedge. The churchyard has a number of mature horse chestnuts and the gravestones in their original positions are set in grass, including a number of railed chest tombs such as that of Thomas Smith and family, and the C18th sarcophagus for the Hatch family of Claybury Hall, Woodford Bridge. An area of flower beds has been laid out as a small memorial garden.