Grave encounters
French Property News|August 2020
Would you live next door to a cemetery? Most French people would run a mile but Joy Brodier finds it fascinating, especially around October time
Joy Brodier
Grave encounters

Do you like visiting cemeteries? In the UK we lived very close to one and it was a popular route to walk into town, with plenty of mature trees, squirrels, birds and a large wild flower patch, yellow with dandelions in the spring.

Maybe that’s why we had no problem with buying a house overlooking a graveyard here in France. The advantages are many. No-one will be able to develop the land and build a block of flats that blocks out our light. It is locked at night and surrounded by a high wall meaning thieves would find it very difficult to break into our house from behind. It is also very calm. No noisy neighbors for us!

We have a little joke that we like to tell people when they visit. The family across the road has the very un-French surname of More. So we tell visitors that we are ‘entre les morts’ – we have the dead, ‘les morts’, on one side and ‘Les Mores’ on the other, so we are between the dead!

We have been very surprised to find that the average French attitude is very different. People will refuse point blank to rent or buy a home next to the dead. The reticence to have tombs near dwellings can be seen in the placement of cemeteries. In the UK the local church usually has a large patch of sacred ground around it, but this is rarely the case in France. Cemeteries are often far from the village and out of sight behind a high brick wall.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

Esta historia es de la edición August 2020 de French Property News.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición August 2020 de French Property News.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE FRENCH PROPERTY NEWSVer todo
Bond With France
French Property News

Bond With France

With a licence to thrill James Bond fans, Chloe Govan goes househunting in the film locations immortalised by the spy who loved France

time-read
8 minutos  |
November 2020
Sarlat stardust
French Property News

Sarlat stardust

Just 20 minutes from Sarlat-la-Caneda, this tastefully restored home reflects the glory of the Périgord Noir capital, says Ruth Wood

time-read
1 min  |
November 2020
The money column
French Property News

The money column

The ‘B’ word is back! Laura Parsons explains how to protect your money as we near the end of Brexit transition

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2020
Nature's harmony
French Property News

Nature's harmony

A renovated farmhouse in Lot-et-Garonne could be perfect for those hearing the call of the wild, discovers Brigitte Nicolas

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2020
Main event
French Property News

Main event

Buying a holiday home near a popular annual event could guarantee you a beautiful setting and some extra cash, finds Hannah Evans

time-read
7 minutos  |
November 2020
Hauss style
French Property News

Hauss style

Joanna Leggett learns all about Georges-Eugène Haussmann – the man who designed the Paris that we know and love

time-read
7 minutos  |
November 2020
Architect's diary
French Property News

Architect's diary

It’s all in a week’s work for France-based Neil Vesma

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
Write on the edge
French Property News

Write on the edge

When it comes to life in west Brittany, author Wendy Mewes has been there, done that, written the guidebook

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2020
A year like no other
French Property News

A year like no other

So much for spring cleaning — property manager Mary Hall explains how 2020 has thrown a spanner in the works for second home owners

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2020
A law unto themselves
French Property News

A law unto themselves

Why is French law so different to the law in England and Wales? It all goes back to William, Henry and Napoleon, explains Alan Field

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020