Body Snatchers

Before the Anatomy Act of 1832, only the bodies of murderers were available for dissection by the medical profession. As medical science progressed and the number of students increased, the supply of murderers did not keep pace with the demand for bodies. High prices were offered and graveyards were systematically pillaged for fresh specimens . This ghoulish practice became so rife that many churches were forced to build watch houses to protect their dead. A few of these survive and examples can been seen at St. Sepulchre's, Holborn (in Giltspur Street) and St. Clement Danes', Strand (in Strand Lane).

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