![Udny Mort House 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Udny_Mort_House_01.JPG)
Udny Mort House is a
morthouse
A morthouse or deadhouse was a specialised secure building usually located in a churchyard where bodies were temporarily interred before a formal funeral took place. These buildings date back to the time when bodysnatchers or resurrectionists fre ...
in the old kirkyard at
Udny Green
Udny Green (Scottish Gaelic: Olldanaidh; Doric: Widnie Green) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, immediately southwest of Pitmedden. It is part of the parish of Udny along with another small settlement, Udny Station. Udny Parish Church i ...
, Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. Built in 1832, it is today a Category B
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. It housed corpses until they started to
decompose
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is ...
, so their graves would not be desecrated by
resurrectionists and
body-snatchers digging them up to sell the cadavers to medical colleges for
dissection
Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
. Bodies were permitted to be stored for up to three months before burial. The circular morthouse was designed with a revolving platform and double doors. After the passage into law of the
Anatomy Act 1832
The Anatomy Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.75) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave free licence to doctors, teachers of anatomy and bona fide medical students to dissect donated bodies. It was enacted in response to public revu ...
Udny Mort House gradually fell into disuse; minutes of the committee responsible for its operation cease in about July 1836.
Background
In the 18th and 19th centuries
body-snatchers, also known as
resurrectionists, shush-lifters or noddies, excavated graves to meet the increasing demand from medical colleges for bodies to dissect, as not enough were being supplied from executions. Precautions were taken to protect the bodies and various methods were used to prevent access to graves. In Scotland,
vaults, watch houses, mort houses and
mortsafe
A mortsafe or mortcage was a construction designed to protect graves from disturbance and used in the United Kingdom. Resurrectionists in the United Kingdom, Resurrectionists and Night Doctors had supplied schools of anatomy since the early 18th c ...
s were used. Grave-robbing was a widespread problem and in 1821, the minister for
West Calder
West Calder ( sco, Wast Cauder, gd, Caladar an Iar) is a village in the council area of West Lothian, Scotland, located four miles west of Livingston, West Lothian, Livingston. Historically it is within the County of Midlothian. The village was ...
, Reverend W. Fleming wrote:
Bodies were securely kept in locked buildings until the process of natural decomposition rendered the cadavers useless for dissection.
History
![Udny Mort House 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Udny_Mort_House_05.jpg)
A group of 15 local gentlemen held a meeting in Udny Green on 21 January 1832 to discuss constructing a vault within the churchyard to hold dead bodies until they could be buried. Agreement was reached and a decision was made to use a plan that had been submitted by John Marr of Cairnbrogie. Formally adopted the following week, an advertisement was placed in the ''Aberdeen Journal'' on 15 February 1832, inviting tenders for the construction of the mort house. Applications were also invited from potential subscribers to use the facility. The contracts to undertake the building work were awarded on 17 March 1832; however, difficulties were encountered collecting the subscriptions (which were to be used to cover the building costs), so the plans were altered to reduce costs. Construction was to be completed by 1 September 1832 but was delayed after arguments took place with the mason. The contractors received final payments on 26 January 1833 and the formal "Regulations for the management of the vault at Udny" were agreed on 23 February. The regulations are likely to be similar to those applied to other mort houses, although records of other structures are not generally available. Rules included stipulations as to the construction of coffins, which had to be made from well-seasoned fir inches thick and completely air-tight. Additionally, any bodies considered to be "infectious or otherwise dangerous" had to be wrapped in tin plate or lead. A penalty of two pounds was levied on the maker of a coffin that did not conform to the requirements.
Bodies were permitted to remain in the mort house for up to three months. Non-subscribers were allowed use of the vault by paying between five and twenty shillings, at the committee's discretion. Four members of the committee were key bearers, and it was compulsory for them to be present to open and close the vault whenever necessary, although they were to be given twenty-four hours notice that they were required.
Architecture
The building was built from
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
in 1832 to the design of John Marr of Cairnbrogie; the masonry work was undertaken by Alexander Wallace of Smiddyhill. Thomas Smith of Oldmeldrum completed the carpentry work. The roof is
slated rather than the more common covering of turf. There is a thick oak outer door accompanied by an iron inner door. Three feet above the floor inside was a revolving circular oak platform, on which the coffins were placed. The structure has no windows. The interior has a domed stone roof and
lath and plaster
Lath and plaster is a building process used to finish mainly interior dividing walls and ceilings. It consists of narrow strips of wood ( laths) which are nailed horizontally across the wall studs or ceiling joists and then coated in plaster. The ...
walls.
After the passing of the
Anatomy Act 1832
The Anatomy Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.75) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave free licence to doctors, teachers of anatomy and bona fide medical students to dissect donated bodies. It was enacted in response to public revu ...
, the morthouse gradually fell into disuse. The minutes of the committee meeting held on 4 July 1836 record that the key-bearers were warned they must be present when the doors were being opened, or they could be fined.
Udny Mort House is described as a "rare and important structure" by Scottish Church Heritage Research.
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...
allocated it a Category B
listing in April 1971. Some restoration work was undertaken in 1976–77. A further inspection by
Aberdeenshire Council
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...
officials in July 1998 suggested it required further work, particularly highlighting the need for re-pointing and some roof slate replacement.
The
dead house
A dead house, deadhouse or mort house, is a structure used for the temporary storage of a human corpse before burial or transportation, usually located within or near a cemetery. Such edifices were more common before the mid-20th century in area ...
in Ontario, Canada, built in about 1868, is a very similar structure to Udny Mort House. It seems to have been used during bad weather to store bodies until burial was possible.
References
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Crime prevention
Death customs
Houses completed in 1832
Category B listed buildings in Aberdeenshire