File:St Bridget's Kirk - watchhouse - geograph.org.uk - 1099115.jpg
St_Bridget's_Kirk_-_watchhouse_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1099115.jpg (640 × 480 pixels, file size: 151 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
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Summary
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English: St Bridget's Kirk - watchhouse Bodysnatchers!
Body-snatching was a lucrative 'occupation' in the olden days. Burke and Hare were 'doing their bit for the medical profession' in Edinburgh and supplies of bodies for experiments were always required. "Few burial grounds in Scotland, it is believed, have escaped the ravaging hands of resurrection men; and it is reported that with respect to a church-yard not far from Edinburgh, that, till within three years ago, when the inhabitants began to watch the graves, the persons interred did not remain in their graves above a night, and that these depredations were successfully carried on for nine successive winters." -Rev. W. Fleming, West Calder, Scotland. 1821 Security men, known as 'Beadles', often armed with muskets or blunderbusses, would stand guard in the graveyard during the hours of darkness to ward off would-be bodysnatchers. In order to make their task more tolerable, particularly during the long cold nights of winter, watch houses of various designs began to be erected in graveyards across Scotland. "At their simplest these watch-houses resemble small cottages, usually set within the kirkyard where they afford a good view of the graves. Like this one, they are usually consist of a single room furnished with a fireplace and chimney and with one or more windows from which to keep watch." Bodysnatchers: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/zoologymuseum/bodysnatchers/background.php The Kirk: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/125230 The 'Beadles' were not always effective and some were even suspected of sending signals over the water to Edinburgh to advise of fresh graves. More views: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1099121 https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1099119 |
| Date | |
| Source | From geograph.org.uk |
| Author | Simon Johnston |
| Attribution (required by the license) | Simon Johnston / St Bridget's Kirk - watchhouse / |
| Camera location |   | View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap |  |
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| Object location | | View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap | |
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Licensing
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This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph's page on the Geograph website for the photographer's contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by Simon Johnston and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
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| Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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| current | 15:22, 24 February 2011 | | 640 × 480 (151 KB) | GeographBot (talk | contribs) | == {{int:filedesc}} == {{Information |description={{en|1=St Bridget's Kirk - watchhouse Bodysnatchers! Body-snatching was a lucrative 'occupation' in the olden days. Burke and Hare were 'doing their bit for the medical profession' in Edinburgh and su |
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