A CRYPT has been given a new lease of life after going under the hammer at auction.

The small brick-built building, in Ford Road Cemetery, Arundel, was given a guide price of £25,000 to £30,000 when it went up for sale at Hove Town Hall.

Despite its rather macabre past, auctioneers Austin Gray of Brighton had said potential buyers were intrigued by its ‘tranquility’ and ‘love it or hate it’ appeal.

The new owner must have been dead keen on the acquisition as the guide price did not stop them coffin up the cash to buy it. It was eventually sold for £28,000.

The freehold structure has planning consent for an office or artist’s studio space with an outside area measuring 15ft by 22ft. The room itself measures 16ft by 14ft 3in and is 15ft 3in tall.

Inside, it has been decorated and tiled and there is electricity, a small kitchen area with a sink and a separate chemical toilet.

The sellers said there was also the potential for a mezzanine floor or storage area. Originally built in the 1920s, the property is tucked away among the headstones of the cemetery.

The prospect of its former residents returning to haunt the new owners did not stop it attracting one of Austin Gray’s highest attendances for 30 years.

The auction at Hove Town Hall saw queues of buyers with the auctioneer running out of bidder paddles for the first time ever.

Nick Muston, the head of Austin Gray Auctions, said: “Having held this event over many years, we were amazed and extremely pleased with the turnout and the final result. It threw up a completely different crop of buyers from all walks of life.”

For more information on the next auction on November 20 call 01273 201980 or visit www.austingray.co.uk.

Under the hammer

THE morbid plot in Arundel is not the first in Sussex to attract interest from visionary purchasers. A derelict chapel that is part of a cemetery in Priory Road, Forest Row, was sold for £121,000 in May. In part dating back to 1876, the new owners bought it with the intention of restoring it and turning it into a dwelling, though their plans met some resistance from residents.