Cemetery lodge seeks spirited buyer

The neighbours are quiet and it is in the dead centre of town.

But you had better not be scared of ghosts if you decide to bid for this 150-year-old Grade II listed property. The two-bedroom Victorian house has one of the most peaceful back gardens in the country as it borders St James Cemetery in Bath.

St James Cemetery Lodge, in Lower Bristol Road, is being sold by Bath & North East Somerset Council.

The house, which is in need of some updating, boasts two reception rooms and a kitchen on the ground floor, with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. There is also a separate store on the other side of the magnificent archway.

The cemetery opened in 1861 complete with the lodge, which was used by the superintendent who worked from 6am to 6pm for a mere £1.25 per week in today's money.

Notable Bath residents buried in St James Cemetery include the Rev William Jay Bolton, who introduced the use of stained glass in churches in America, and RE Dickinson, former Mayor of Bath, who laid the foundation stone of the Empire Hotel in the city centre.

The cemetery closed to new interments in 1937 when burials transferred to Haycombe. There are an estimated 24,000 interments at St James.

Councillor David Bellotti, cabinet member for community resources, said: "We are very pleased to be putting this residential or development opportunity on to the open market for auction. The back garden couldn't border a more quiet location.

"With the proceeds of the sale, Bath & North East Somerset Council will be reinvesting them into our services for local people."

The house is going under the hammer on November 1 and the guide price is between £60,000 and £80,000.