Sha'arei Shalom Ohel

Gigg Lane Cemetery, Bury

On Sunday 10th April 2005, 1st Nisan 5765, The Sha'arei Shalom Ohel at the Bury Municipal Cemetery, Gigg Lane, Bury, was formally opened by the man principally responsible for inspiring its building.

An emotional 60 strong gathering saw Rabbi Norman Zalud, the synagogue's spiritual leader, unveil the dedication plaque. Those present included visitors from local Reform and Orthodox Judaism and the wider non-Jewish communities.

At the dedication ceremony Rabbi Zalud recalled how he, along with synagogue council members Chairman Eric Cohen, Treasurer Brian Fink, Building and Maintenance Officer Stan Perry and the whole membership of the Shul Executive and Council and the congregation, had battled for the previous five years to turn the notion of a prayer hall at the cemetery into reality. The Rabbi had desperately wanted to give mourners an appropriate building in which to grieve; to be at peace in a place worthy of their deceased relatives, friends and those who had perished in the Holocaust. After three years of talking, planning, fund raising and mortgaging, the actual construction process started. It needed two firms of architects and required two builders. It caused many visits by Bury Council building inspectors and by Eric Cohen in attempts to keep the builders working. It cost many thousands of pounds, more than treble the original estimates. Building started in April 2003 and completion had been expected in two months - however it was two years before we had this magnificent House of Prayer on our cemetery.

Completion of the Ohel was only made possible by the hard work and generosity of the Shul Ladies Guild, the Social Committee and the many unnamed individuals who continued to work and give their money unstintingly until the project was completed. Various artefacts and windows have been made available for dedication.

A photographic record of the evolution of the Ohel can be found in the gallery. (If you open this gallery, we suggest that you click on view slideshow at the bottom left of the opening page and then show more info at the top of the slide page.) When you've seen the Gallery, click Back twice to return to this page.