For information on the now defunct Jewish community of Merthy Tydfil, see Merthyr Tydfil on JCR-UK.
CEMETERY:
- The Merthyr Tydfil Jewish Cemetery, Brecon Road, Cefn-coed (pronounced Kevin-Coyd) CF48
The Cemetery, situated on the edge of the picturesque Brecon Beacons National Park, was established in about 1865, and extended in 1935
JOWBR has 624 burials [February 2016]
Merthyr once had a large and prosperous Jewish community dating from at least 1850. The descendants of the 19th and 20th century community now are scattered. The last Jew of Merthyr, George Black, died in Manchester around 1998. His may be the new grave. Jewish Burial Department at Cardiff City Hall exists. David Jacobs and Martin Saffer did a survey in 1978. George Black looked after the cemetery. In a letter dated 16 April 1998, he stated he had handed the responsibility to Mrs. Nettie Whitlen, 86 Cynocoed St., Cardiff, Wales. She and her brother Martin Barton now have the responsibility. Source: Ian Bellany; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
"...responsibility for maintenance has devolved upon the Board of Deputies in London. The burial registers were apparently in private hands and cannot now be traces." Source: Jewish Heritage of England - An Architectual Guide, by Sharman Kadish [2006]
The Ohel contains plaques taken from the now-closed Merthyr Tydfil Synagogue. The JCR-UK webpages for Merthyr Tydfil includes a Poem about the Cemetery (in English and Welsh) by Grhame Davies and Photographs of the Cemetery. Source: David Shulman, Webmaster of JCR-UK [February 2016]
See also Cemetery Scribes - Merthyr Tydfil Jewish Cemetery, which includes images of a large number of headstones [January 2016]