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Bodysnatching for Cambridge anatomy |
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The period from c1740 to 1820 was the bodysnatchers’ heyday. Though dangerous, the work was highly lucrative. Snatchers could name their price – schools became dependent on them for the supply of bodies which were dismembered and sold on to students at a profit. Most traffic occurred in the winter months when cold weather preserved corpses for longer. The efficiency of their distribution networks, as the Sterne story illustrates, was considerable. Corpses were transported in all sorts of inventive ways – in similar ways to smuggled liquor or poached game.
Etching by W. Hogarth, entitled "The dissection of the body of Tom Nero", 1751
© The Wellcome Trust |
Secure burial was keenly sought after in this era. The aristocracy usually chose to be buried inside country churches or in purpose-built mausolea in the grounds of their own stately homes, far from the vicinity of anatomy schools. The middle classes opted for burial in church vaults where possible, as such places were considered more secure than open air burial in graveyards – the most vulnerable and least favoured option. In numerical terms, however, most dead were buried outdoors, and quiet grounds were the places most favoured by grave-robbers.
Because of the presence of an anatomy school, there was a high index of suspicion within the city of Cambridge, causing difficulties for anatomists there. Laurence Sterne’s post-mortem journey to Cambridge probably followed a route well-worn by the corpses of the London poor.
Words: Dr Ruth Richardson
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