The Brynmawr & District Jewish Burial Board Rule Book

Description

An A6 sized booklet that contains a list of 25 rules, which the members of the Brynmawr & District Jewish Burial Board had to follow. Such as the size of the board, expenses and meetings. An excerpt from the book explains that the board was "founded for the purpose of providing Jewish Burial to the members of the Congregations of the district affiliated with the Board" (image 2).

The Brynmawr Hebrew Congregation was formed in 1888. Initially, services were held at the home of the then President of the congregation, Barnett Isaacs, and then later in Brynmawr Town Hall. The congregation solicited funds to build their own synagogue, which was eventually built on Bailey Street and opened in 1901.

A burial ground was acquired by the congregation in 1919 thanks to a donation by Abel Myers of Abersychan who purchased the land from the Brynmawr Urban District Council and conveyed it by a document of 23 October 1919 to five men: Abel Myers, pawnbroker, of Abersychan; Jacob Morris, jeweller, of Brynmawr; Isaac Brest, furniture dealer, of Brynmawr; Joel Ballin, draper, of Brynmawr; and Jacob Myers, clothier, of Nantyglo. The land measured 2 acres, 3 roods, and 3 perches, and the cost was £206.00. The plot was consecrated in August 1920.

By the early 1960s the Brynmawr Hebrew Congregation had decreased to such an extent that the community was forced to stop religious services in 1963. From then onwards the small number of Jews living in Brynmawr joined the Newport Hebrew Congregation, and the synagogue in Bailey Street was eventually sold in 1966.

Sources:
- Parry-Jones, Cai, 'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
- Pollins, Harold, 'The Jewish Community of Brynmawr, Wales', The Jewish Journal of Sociology, L, 1-2 (2008): jewishjournalofsociology.org/index.php/jjs/article/download/15/16;
- 'Brynmawr Hebrew Congregation': https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/val1_brynmawr/index.htm.

Depository: Gwent Archives.