https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornish-cemetery-named-alongside-stonehenge-1416698
A little known Jewish cemetery on the edge of Penryn is the only historical site to make it onto a list of 100 buildings that ought to be preserved for future generations in England, it has been revealed.
The Jewish and Congregationalist cemetery at Ponsharden was chosen to sit alongside Stonehenge, Canterbury Cathedral, a holy well, a London mosque and a Sikh temple in Birmingham on the list of buildings which best represent faith and beliefs in England.
The cemetery, which was founded in about 1780 on the south coast of Cornwall to serve the growing local Jewish community, was selected by category judge The Very Reverend David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s.
The citation about the Jewish cemetery said it was establish in the 18th century when Jewish people began to move away from London into the farther reaches of England.
As Falmouth was one of Cornwall’s more urban areas it was an attractive base to settle and start to trade.
A silversmith named Alexander Moses, otherwise known as Zender Falmouth, settled there in 1740 and petitioned for 20 years for a Jewish cemetery to be founded because the number of Jewish families settling in the area had flourished. Beside it is a Congregationalist cemetery, which was founded in the same year for the local Congregationalist population.
Reverend Ison said: “The fact they were established next to each other tells us how society was increasingly accepting minority religious groups outside of the established Church during the 18th century.
“They are not only an important reminder of how different faiths commemorate their dead, they can also tell us about the growth and change in England’s religious communities and how this shaped the country.”