Edinburgh, Regent Road, New Calton burial ground watchtower. View from South East
SC 2657999
Description Edinburgh, Regent Road, New Calton burial ground watchtower. View from South East
Date 1971
Catalogue Number SC 2657999
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of ED 5058
Scope and Content Watchtower, New Calton burial ground, Edinburgh With the growth of medical teaching in the 18th century, universities required ever greater numbers of cadavers for study, often purchased illegally from resurrectionists. Mortsafes and watch-houses were employed by parishes to protect graves. Towers such as this one at New Calton churchyard gave shelter for watchmen at night whilst ensuring new graves were not robbed. Contemporary reports note that such watchmen were often easily bribed or were drunk on duty and therefore not terribly alert. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1832 which provided for the supply of bodies required for medical experimentation and teaching, rendering the bodysnatchers redundant. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
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