Cefn Coed Cemetery is situated at the north end of the village of Cefn-coed-y-cymmer on the north-west edge of Merthyr Tydfil, on the lower, sloping sides of the Taf Fawr valley, divided into two sections by the river. It is the oldest and largest general public cemetery in Merthyr Tydfil, created in 1859 when the town was experiencing a population explosion. Apart from the loss of the chapel of rest it survives in its entirety with its original layout.

The Jewish burial ground here was established c.1865 and was extended in 1935. It served the Jewish communities in the locality of Merthyr Tydfil and Dowlais where the mining and iron industries employed Russian, Romanian and Polish Jews in addition to the mercentile families who worked as shop-keepers, jewellers, clothiers etc... in the rapidly growing industrial communities. A small brick prayer house (Ohel) built c.1898, but now with a concrete roof, now houses plaques from the former Merthyr Synagogue (nprn 11795).

Sources:
Cadw Historic Park & Gardens database: PGW(Gm)70(MER).
Photographed during RCAHMW aerial reconnaissance on 13 June 2011.

RCAHMW, 6 July 2022

Site Record

Jewish Burial Ground, Cefn Coed y Cymmer, Merthyr Tydfil