Burial

About the Federation Burial Society

The Burial Society of the Federation of Synagogues was created in 1889, when the organisation’s founder Lord Samuel Montagu donated a strip of his family land in Edmonton for use as a burial site. The Burial Society was formally established the following year. Edmonton Federation Cemetery has the capacity for nearly 40,000 graves and is currently at 98% capacity.

Notable figures buried in Edmonton include Lord Montagu himself, two Sassover Rebbes z”tl, Rav Eliezer Gordon (the ‘Telzer Rav’), Rav Reuven Dov Dessler z”tl (the father of R’Eliyahu Dessler) and Dayan Gershon Lopian z”tl.

By the end of World War II the Jewish community was moving North, South and West in the city, where new Federation congregations were established. By 1937, the Federation had 13,000 members and 68 affiliated synagogues scattered across London.

As a result of this, land for a second Federation cemetery, in Rainham, Essex, was purchased in 1936 on 106 acres. It was consecrated in February 1938. Rainham has a capacity for 45-50,000 graves and is at 60% of capacity.

The Federation recently opened a new cemetery on Edgwarebury Lane in Edgware that will service the nearby communities in North West London, Edgware, Borehamwood and beyond.

For further information please contact the Burial Society on 020 8202 3903.