A GRADE-II listed Victorian cemetery lodge deemed perfect for occupiers looking for the quiet life was snapped up at auction for £15,000 more than the guide price.

The ecclesiastically styled, block-built ,carved stone-faced lodge in the grounds of Chepstow cemetery was sold on behlaf of Monmouthshire County Council by Paul Fosh Auctions.

It went for £165,000 after being listed with a guide price of £150,000 plus.

The new owners, three local property professionals, fought off a range of other bids in the auction room last week to secure the 165-year-old building.

They say they now plan to sympathetically renovate the unique cemetery lodge for use as an Airbnb property.

The new owners, all with a love of historic buildings, say they are delighted to have secured the Chepstow building.

“It’s an absolutely gorgeous 19th century building which deserves the very best in terms of restoration,” said one.

“We plan to bring the building back to how it should be and make it into a truly wonderful place with wood-burning stove and original style cast-iron radiators.”

Paul Fosh, the Monmouth-based owner of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “There was keen interest in the Chepstow cemetery lodge which carried on into the auction room.

“We were pleased to have achieved the price that we did for this most unusual property.”

The Grade II listed freehold detached building, built in 1854 with additions from the 1960s and more recently, is positioned at the entrance to the cemetery.

The two bed property, with three downstairs rooms, one of which has been used as a bedroom, is located off Mathern Road and was probably once used by the cemetery sexton.