The first of a series of lectures delivered at the Mechanics' Institution, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, Nov. 27, 1846, on the actual condition of the metropolitan grave-yards / by Geo. Alfd. Walker.

  • Walker, George Alfred, 1807-1884.
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The first of a series of lectures delivered at the Mechanics' Institution, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, Nov. 27, 1846, on the actual condition of the metropolitan grave-yards / by Geo. Alfd. Walker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    character of the deposits, the effluvium arising from which was so overpowering that she with difficulty escaped fainting, and said, that among tlie refuse that was kicked ahout, she observed a thigh bone with flesh upon it, as broad as her hand and a foot in length ; a spinal bone also -with flesh attached to it; a silk hand- kerchief stained with blood, evidently used to tie up a person's jaw; and a •woollen mattrass, still bearing the impression of a human figure. Holland, the warrant officer, produced several pieces of coffins, and stated that such fragments had been extensively dispersed about the neighbourhood, and that in five houses alone he found at least a cart-load. On being called \ipon to answer the charge, the defendants severally said that they had been directed by the niece and sister of their master to proceed at 3 o'clock on Saturday morning to cart away some rubbish from the vaults of the church in Friday Street, in which they were assisted by the street-keeper, the gravedigger, and other persons. The report in the newspapers concludes with the statement that the proceedings attracted the greatest interest, and the court was densely crowded during the investigation, which lasted several hours. Now, monstrous and incredible as these statements may appear, they unmask no new practices, they unveil no special deformity as connected with the so-called burial of the dead in London. Official superintendence, assisted by the shovel, the pickaxe, the sledge-hammer, and the crow-bar, divides those who hoped to repose together quietly in death. Men, women, and children, the living and the dead, are involved in this horrible, this disgusting, this most unchristian desecration. The dust contractor, his niece and sister, in a word, all who permitted, or aided, or assisted, directly or indirectly, are chargeable with its consequences. And who shall chronicle them ? Who shall teU us whether these official mutilations, these terrible, these revolting desecrations of the image of the Almighty, will not surely bring down upon us His severe displeasure? Who shall trace the physical effects of the yet xm- known but deadly poisons, thus let loose at the will of this or that official ? Let us now inquire a little further into the condition of another burial-place in the City. Mr. James Anderton, a member of the Common Council of the City of London, has, as you are probably aware, brought the question of interments tivice before the members of that court, and has twice carried by acclamation Petitions to the House of Commons for the absolute prohibition of burials within the Metro- polis. Mr. Anderton considers our present practice little, if at all, better than burying in our town streets. He applies this objection to all the church-yards within the City of London ; says, truly, that they are most of them very small; that they are aU of them in very crowded neighbourhoods, in the verj' heart of the City of London, in fact, in the streets. Mr. Anderton informs the Pariia- mentary Committee that he has, heard innumerable complaints of the state of the church-yards, the effluvium arising therefrom, and the bad effects resulting to persons residing near them. Mr. Anderton considers that burials in vaiUts under churches is highly objectionable. He has always considered that churches were made for the Uving, and not for the dead; and iUustrates this position by the state of the vaults of St. Martin's, on Ludgatc Hill, in the very