• 3 weeks ago
A homeowner who bought a property with a graveyard in the back garden says it's one of England’s most 'peaceful places'.

Bob Sutton, 59, was not put off purchasing his 375-year-old cottage after learning there were three tombstones and 92 people buried behind the address.

Instead, he and his partner, Nubia Farquharson, have spent the last 25 years proudly bringing the overgrown former Methodist cemetery "back to life".

Bob said: "Although a lot of people say to me ‘I could not live there,' it’s one of the most peaceful places in England - it is to me, anyway."

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00:00Hello, I'm Bob and in my garden there's a gravestone.
00:07We've lived here for 25 years in this lovely garden with a gravestone behind us.
00:12It's the most idyllic place to live, we're so happy and content here.
00:16It is very comforting having a gravestone in the middle of our garden.
00:19How do you use a space, and I see that you've built this summer house in here, how do you live with it?
00:26It's our secret garden.
00:28It's our secret garden, we make good use of it.
00:31We're out here most days, it's the most wonderful place to sit.
00:35It takes quite a lot of maintenance, but we enjoy making the garden.
00:39It's our garden.
00:40It's our lovely garden, it's the most beautiful place.
00:42On a summer's evening out here, cutting the grass, tending the stones, it's the most fantastic thing.
00:47In around 1840, this piece of land was used as a graveyard.
00:52There's around about 100 bodies in this graveyard.
00:55There's three headstones left, we are the custodians of it.
00:59We try to look after it and maintain it for the people to come and enjoy.
01:03It's a lovely place to live in, a lovely community.
01:06When people come to live in Ruffley, they very seldom leave.
01:09We get a lot of tourists come to view the garden, and look at the gravestones, and they find it fascinating.
01:15It's a wonderful place, they say, they wish they lived here.
01:21For more information visit www.fema.gov

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