A Victorian two bedroom detached house with one of the most peaceful back garden settings in the country is being sold by the Council.
The back garden of St James Cemetery Lodge, 87 Lower Bristol Road, borders the cemetery with some gravestones just yards away from the property.
The home has two reception rooms and a kitchen on the ground floor. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a bathroom. There is also a separate store on the other side of the magnificent archway. The 1860s Grade II Listed property needs some updating.
Councillor David Bellotti (Lib-Dem, Lyncombe), Cabinet Member for Community Resources, said, “We are very pleased to be putting this residential or development opportunity onto the open market for auction. The back garden couldn’t border in 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 guide price for the auction which is being held on 1st November 2012 is £60,000 – £80,000. The Council regularly puts vacant properties on its website for sale or rent. Further details on these in addition to St James Cemetery Lodge can be found here: http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/propertylistings
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 at St James Cemetery are:
- Rev. William Jay Bolton, Vicar who introduced the use of stained glass in churches in America;
- R.E Dickinson, former Mayor of Bath, who laid the foundation stone of the Empire Hotel in Bath city centre.
The cemetery closed to new internments in 1937 when burials transferred to where they are today – Haycombe. There are an estimated 24,000 interments at St James.