Article Title: "The Body Snatchers "

Author: Sheila Convey

Society Membership Level: Field Investigation Team

Copyright: Sheila Convey

Year Published: 2008

Miscellaneous: -

Dissection of the human body to gain knowledge of structure and function is rooted in antiquity. Anatomy is the study of the way we are made and is considered the cornerstone of scientific medicine. However it has a history, which at times was grisly and scandalous.

It has not always been the preserve of medicine though. Many artists dissected cadavers, particularly during the Renaissance, as a means of better understanding the human form.

A Flemish born anatomist called Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) transformed the field and corrected many misconceptions from earlier times. In his early life anatomy was considered of little importance to other branches of medicine but he believed that surgery had to be grounded in anatomy. In 1539 a Paduan judge took an interest in his work and made the bodies of executed criminals available to him. Until that time Galen was the standard authority in anatomy but because of religious reasons was restricted to animals, manly apes. Vesalius was able to make comparisons in various human bodies and from this produced ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica’ (on the structure of the human body) in 1543.

Around this time Henry VIII gave the College of Barbers and Surgeons the right to take the bodies of 4 executed prisoners every year.

Interest in anatomy grew and so did the numbers of bodies allowed for dissection. However, only convicted criminals could be used and the private schools that were springing up were not allowed to take them. The needs were more than met in the 18th century when hundreds were executed for quite trivial crimes but by the 19th century, when many anatomy schools were being established, there was a shortage of cadavers. On average 55 people were hanged each year when some 500 bodies were needed.

Laws were very strict concerning human dissection at the beginning of the 1800’s. It was forbidden in all cases, except where the body of an executed criminal was donated. This became comparatively rare since ‘hanging with dissection’ was a specific punishment reserved for murderers, with the requirement that the body must never be placed in hallowed ground.

The anatomy schools were competing for students but lecturers were unable to teach very well without their visual aids. Dead bodies became a commodity. It was too risky for the anatomists to actively search for fresh corpses and this is where the body snatchers came in. They were also known as resurrectionists, for their ability to raise the dead.

The body snatchers had two methods for robbing the fresh graves, which was carried out under cover of darkness and with wooden spades, which were quieter. Some would dig at the head end and when they reached the coffin they would prise open the lid with a crowbar. The earth covering the rest of the coffin would act as a counterweight and so exposed the body, which they pulled out with ropes. It would be put in a sack and tied at the neck and heels. The grave robbers would then replace the earth to cover their tracks. Another method was to remove a manhole-sized square of turf 15ft. to 20ft. from the head of the grave and then dig a tunnel to intercept the coffin. The end of the coffin would be pulled off and the corpse pulled through the tunnel. The turf was then replaced.

Even if it were suspected that the grave had been interfered with the body snatchers would not pay too high a price, as the body was not considered property. This is why they would usually strip the body of clothing, as it would be classed as stealing. Taking a corpse was a misdemeanour in common law and only punishable with a fine or imprisonment, rather than stealing, which was a felony and punishable by transportation or execution.

It was lucrative employment. By the 1820’s a fresh corpse could bring £10 and they needed to be as fresh as possible.  Without refrigeration bodies decayed quickly and would become useless to the anatomist.

The concept of body snatching was repulsive to most people at that time. Britain was still very religious and Christians believed that the body should be left intact. Despite public criticism the authorities turned a blind eye. One surgeon, Andrew Marshall was caught with a hamper containing the bodies of two children but no action was taken against him. Many regarded it as a necessary evil.

Relatives of the dead did all they could to stop their loved ones’ bodies being taken. The poor were more at risk as the coffins were cheap and easily broken. People would guard the graves and watch towers were built in graveyards where the guards could stay. The perimeter walls were raised and high railings added to keep the corpses in and the robbers out. Some placed trinkets on the grave so that they could see if it had been disturbed. People joined ‘watch clubs’ which collected weekly contributions. When a member died all the others took it in turns to watch their grave. In Scotland they went even further and used heavy iron grills or cages. These were called mortsafes (from the Latin word ‘mors’, ‘mortis’ meaning death) and were placed on top of the graves in order to give the body a chance to decompose before the body snatchers could get at it. They also used a morthouse or watch box to provide security for the dead. Some opted for iron coffins and a Kingkettle collar was sometimes used. An iron shackle was placed round the neck of the body and then bolted to the base of the coffin.

As grave robbing became more difficult and altogether more risky the less accomplished gave up on it and this pushed the price of bodies up even further. This led to something the public feared, and that was murder as a means of obtaining bodies.

Two Irish immigrants, the infamous Burke and Hare murdered many victims in Edinburgh. They had hit upon the idea by chance one night in 1827 when one of Hare’s tenants died in his sleep. He owed rent and it was decided to sell his body to the medical school. By the time of the trial in 1828 Burke had confessed to 16 murders. Hare turned King’s evidence and claimed that he had only ever done the planning and the bargaining with Dr.Knox of Edinburgh’s Medical School. Hare’s evidence sent Burke to the gallows. He died a month later and ironically his corpse was donated to the school he had kept well supplied. His body was dissected in a lecture and it is rumoured that the students stole pieces of his skin, which they used to cover books. His bones are still there. Hare was smuggled out of Edinburgh and is thought to have lived as a beggar for the rest of his life. Dr.Knox was not charged with any crime but hundreds rioted in the streets demanding he be arrested and hanged for his involvement. His career in Edinburgh was effectively destroyed as fewer and fewer students attended his lectures.

In the April edition of ‘All the Year Round’, a magazine published in 1881, Charles Dickens commented on how, “For several years (in the late 1820’s) there prevailed what would now be called a “burking scare.” He said: “Burke added, like Mr.Boycott, a new verb to the English Language. In fact people went about at night in terror of being burked”. Many criminals took inspiration from Burke and Hare.

The London Burkers were a group of body snatchers operating in London in 1831 who modelled themselves on Burke and Hare. The gang consisted of John Bishop, Thomas Williams and James May. The killing of a 14-year-old Italian boy called Carlo Ferarai was to be their downfall. He was a street urchin who travelled to London displaying trained white mice and a turtle in exchange for a few coins. On 4th November 1831 he was lured into a boarding house with the promise of a job and was murdered by the gang. In their haste to make a profit they took the still warm body to Richard Partridge of King’s College London. He became suspicious and called the police. John Bishop’s children had been give the mice and this led to the men being tried at the Old Bailey. Bishop and Williams were condemned to death. May was transported to Australia but died on the voyage. Bishop and Williams were dissected and the remains displayed. Thousands had turned up to watch the hangings and a play was written about the unfortunate boy. There was a public outcry.

Parliament was forced to legalise the dissection of bodies and The Anatomy Act was passed in 1832. It was designed to increase the number of available bodies by allowing the use of those who were unclaimed after 48 hours of the death. It was inevitable that the poor would be the main source of supply and people from workhouses, hospitals and asylums were handed over for the next 100 years. The Act revoked the law allowing executed murderers to be dissected and made provision for those who didn’t want their bodies to be dissected. The Home Office also appointed an inspector of anatomy who policed the distribution of bodies and inspected anatomy schools. By the 1890’s body snatching was rare and had almost stopped by the beginning of the 20th century.

Simon Chaplin, the senior curator at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London has said that despite the distaste surrounding the unethical aspects of body snatching it should be put into its historic context. In a speech in 2007 he said that some of the greatest discoveries of medical history took part in the 18th century. They included advances in dental surgery and obstetrics, the development of the smallpox vaccine and the detection of venereal disease.