Document: Body Snatchers

Date: 28 June 2002
Author: JPR
Publisher: GreyArts

• Cites Joseph Sage 1828

When medical science became more scientific and proper surgeons started to train themselves a need for bodies to practise on arose. Initially this was officially persons who were executed for crimes. This was insufficient so the trade of body snatching came into being. Persons newly buried were dug up and sold to the Surgeons.
At this time is was strongly believed that to enter Paradise a person had to be buried complete so they could arise on Judgement Day. This was denied to those who were taken for experimental disection. The surviving relatives were deeply upset.
At the same time towns were expanding rapidly giving very dense populations. The only legal way to have someone buried was in the local parish church yard, these rapidly became overfilled. Some very macabre ways of freeing space were resorted to.
The solution to these problems was that in 1832 a Act allowed the formation of private graveyards that could provide space for new burials and proper controls. Also to provide bodies for surgeons any person who died in a Poor House could be sold for disection. Presumably it did not matter if the Poor could not get to Paradise, they probably did not deserve it.

Return to top of database