'I Brought Up My Family in a London Graveyard'

Most people would never dream of living in a cemetery. But for Colin Burgess, 46, and his family, a graveyard in London has been home for the past 15 years. Colin manages five cemeteries and a crematorium for Lewisham Council, and his job comes with a four-bedroom house right inside Grove Park Cemetery. It is an unusual address, but Colin and his family say they would not trade it.

Colin lives in the lodge with his wife, three grown children, and a dog. His only neighbors are gravedigger Glen Webb and Glen's wife, Wendy, who live in a small bungalow on the other side of the main path. Both families live there because of their jobs — they are not regular renters. Lewisham is one of the only areas in London where cemetery workers still live on the grounds.

Colin works at nearby Hither Green Cemetery during the day, then comes home to Grove Park each evening. Either he or Glen closes the cemetery gates at night, and one of them usually stays on site for security. The setup works well, though ordering takeout food can be tricky — delivery drivers often stop at the gates and refuse to walk up to the house.

Wendy admits the cemetery felt strange at first. 'I found it spooky when I first came here,' she said, 'but I'm used to it now. It's nice and peaceful.' Glen is even more relaxed about it. 'Doesn't bother me,' he says with a smile. 'The neighbors are quiet.'

Colin's daughter Poppy, now 18, has grown up in the cemetery nearly her whole life. For her, living there feels completely normal. 'You don't come across people living in a cemetery very often. I always have to explain it to people - they think it's really weird, but they think it's really cool too.' She is now studying health and social care and wrote about growing up surrounded by grief on her college application.

Colin has always worked hard to keep family life as normal as possible. The lodge has a large garden where his children played when they were young. He never lets his dog roam through the cemetery, and he refuses to do anything disrespectful on the grounds. 'People say you should ride a quad bike up these paths, but I would never do it, out of respect,' he explained.

Grove Park Cemetery is also home to a surprising amount of wildlife. Thousands of bright green parakeets flock to the trees before flying to Hither Green Cemetery and back. Foxes, hedgehogs, and even a badger have all been spotted among the graves. Parts of the grounds have been turned into 'no mow zones,' where tall grass and wildflowers attract bees and other pollinators.

Colin is not religious himself, but he has seen how faith helps grieving families cope with loss. 'I've seen how religion has helped take the pain off a lot of families, so if it's doing that, then it's one of the best things,' he said. The cemetery serves people of many faiths, including Church of England, Catholic, Muslim, and Buddhist communities.

Of course, the biggest question anyone would ask someone living in a cemetery is whether he has ever seen a ghost. Colin says it happened only once. He had just fixed a windowsill in a bungalow and took a photo to send to his wife. When he looked at the picture later, he spotted a boy in an old school costume standing behind him on a staircase — a staircase that did not actually exist. Spooky indeed.