The London Burkers were a group of

body snatchers Body snatching is the illicit removal of corpses from graves, morgues, and other burial sites. Body snatching is distinct from the act of grave robbery as grave robbing does not explicitly involve the removal of the corpse, but rather theft from t ...

operating in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, who apparently modeled their activities on the notorious

Burke and Hare murders The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection ...

. They came to prominence in 1831 for murdering victims to sell to anatomists, by luring and drugging them at their dwelling in the northern end of

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

, near

St Leonard's, Shoreditch St Leonard's, Shoreditch, is the old parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney in East London. The c ...

in London. They were also known as the Bethnal Green Gang.

Background

Nova Scotia Gardens

Nova Scotia Gardens was the area of a brick field, northeast of

. The brick clay had been exhausted and the area began to be filled in with waste ("leystall", literally excrement). Cottages (probably evolving from sheds serving the gardens) came to be built here but were undesirable as they remained below ground level, and so were prone to flooding.

Anatomy

During the early 19th century, the demand for legally obtained

cadaver A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...

s for the study and teaching of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

in British medical schools greatly exceeded the supply. In the 18th century, hundreds had been executed each year, often for quite trivial crimes, but by the 19th century only 55 people were being hanged each year, while as many as 500 were needed. As

medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pra ...

began to flourish, demand rose sharply and attracted criminal elements willing to obtain specimens by any means. The activities of body-snatchers, or resurrectionists, gave rise to a particular public fear and revulsion. Relatives, or people paid by them, often guarded new graves for a period after burial.

Murders

Gang of Burkers

John Bishop, together with Thomas Williams, Michael Shields, a

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

porter, and James May, an unemployed butcher, also known as Jack Stirabout and Black Eyed Jack, formed a notorious gang of resurrection men, stealing freshly buried bodies for sale to anatomists. In his subsequent confession, Bishop admitted to stealing (and selling) between 500 and 1,000 bodies,Newgate Calendar Vol.5 (1831)
accessed 21 January 2007 over a period of twelve years. The corpses were sold to anatomists, including surgeons from

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

and King's College. The Fortune of War Public House, at Pye Corner in Smithfield, was identified as a popular resort for resurrectionists.''Old Bailey on-line - Trial transcript''
accessed 15 April 2009 The

Fortune of War ''The Fortune of War'' is the sixth historical novel in the Aubrey–Maturin series by British author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1979. It is set during the War of 1812 and much of the story takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. HMS ' ...

pub was demolished in 1910.

"Italian Boy" Murder

In July 1830, John Bishop rented No. 3 Nova Scotia Garden, from Sarah Trueby. On 5 November 1831, the suspiciously fresh corpse of a 14-year-old boy was delivered, by Bishop and May, to the King's College School of Anatomy, in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

. They had previously tried to sell the body at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, but were refused. They demanded twelve guineas for the body but were offered nine. On inspection by

Richard Partridge Richard Partridge FRS, FRCS (19 January 1805, in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire – 25 March 1873, in London) was a British surgeon. Although he became President of both the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, h ...

, demonstrator of anatomy, it was suspected that the body had not been buried, and police were summoned by

Herbert Mayo Herbert Mayo, M.D. (3 April 1796 – 28 June 1852), was a British physiologist, anatomist and medical writer. Biography Mayo was born in Queen Anne Street, London, the third son of John Mayo. He entered Middlesex Hospital as a surgical pup ...

, the professor of anatomy, from the station at

. The resurrection men were arrested, and remanded in custody, by the magistrate. On 8 November, a coroner's jury was held, and found a verdict of "willful murder against some person or persons unknown", but expressed their strong belief that the prisoners, Bishop, Williams and May, had been concerned in the transaction. On 19 November 1831, Joseph Sadler Thomas, a Metropolitan Police superintendent of F (Covent Garden) Division, searched the cottages at Nova Scotia Gardens, and found items of clothing in a well in one of the gardens, and also in one of the privies, suggesting multiple murders. The prisoners appeared at trial, before Chief Justice Tindal, Justice

Joseph Littledale Sir Joseph Littledale (1767 – 26 June 1842) was an English judge. Life He was eldest son of Henry Littledale of Eton House, Lancashire, who was of a Cumberland family. He entered St John's College, Cambridge, in 1783 and was senior wrangle ...

and Baron Vaughan, at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

between 2 and 3 December. Bishop (aged 33), Williams (aged 26) and May (aged 30) were all found guilty of the crime. The windows were opened to allow the public to hear the Recorder pronounce the sentence of death. By an extraordinary arrangement, the police opened the premises at Nova Scotia Gardens for viewing, charging 5

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

. The public carried away the dwellings, piece by piece, as souvenirs. The police had tentatively identified the body as that of Carlo Ferrari, an Italian boy, from Piedmont, but after their trial Bishop and Williams said that the body belonged to a Lincolnshire cattle drover, on his way to Smithfield.

Confession

Bishop and Williams attended the prison chapel on Sunday, 4 December. Afterwards, they were placed in the same cell and the ordinary and under-sheriffs of London took their written confessions. John Bishop admitted that the Lincolnshire boy was taken on 3 November, from The Bell in Smithfield, with the excuse of lodging at Nova Scotia Gardens. On arrival, he was drugged with rum and

laudanum Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum'') in alcohol (ethanol). Reddish-br ...

. Bishop and Williams then went to drink at the Feathers, near Shoreditch church. They returned when the boy had lost consciousness and then pitched him head-first into the well, attaching a cord to the feet. After a brief struggle, the boy was dead; again they went out, and on their return removed and undressed the boy, placing him in a bag. They also admitted to the murder, on 9 October, of an indigent, Frances Pigburn,

sleeping rough Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

in Shoreditch. They lured her into the adjacent empty cottage, No. 2. The method was the same, but this time they had bided their time in the London Apprentice in

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London, England that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shor ...

. The bodies were taken to St Thomas's, for a surgeon Mr South. Due to a delay in acceptance, they were then taken to a Mr Grainger and sold for eight

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

. A further victim, a boy named Cunningham, was found sleeping in the pig market at Smithfield on Friday, 21 October; again lodging was promised. He was drugged with a mixture of warm beer, sugar, rum and laudanum, and murdered in the well. He was undressed, bagged, then sold for eight guineas to a Mr Smith at

. The confessions exonerated the other members of the gang, who would often help with delivery, of involvement in the murders.

Sentencing

Bishop and Williams were hanged at

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

on 5 December 1831 for the murder, before a crowd of thirty thousand. May was respited during his Majesty's pleasure, as it was accepted that he had no knowledge of the murders. The bodies were removed the same night, Bishop to King's College and Williams to the Theatre of Anatomy in Windmill Street,

The Haymarket Haymarket is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Piccadilly Circus in the north to Pall Mall at the southern end. Located on the street are the Theatre Royal, His Majesty's Theatre, New Zealand H ...

, for dissection. On the Tuesday and Wednesday, large crowds viewed their remains. James May was sentenced to penal transportation to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

on 1 December 1831. He received a two-year sentence to Port Arthur for insubordination on board the penal transport vessel and died at the settlement in 1834, buried in an unmarked grave on the Isle of the Dead. In the same year, Catherine Walsh of

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, who made her living by selling laces and cotton, was murdered by Elizabeth Ross, who sold the body to surgeons. She was hanged for the murder.East London History
accessed 25 January 2007 These murders and the

West Port murders The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection ...

led to the passage of the

Anatomy Act 1832 The Anatomy Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 75), also known as the Warburton Anatomy Act 1832 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 ...

that finally provided for an adequate and legitimate supply of corpses for the medical schools. By 1840, the area of Nova Scotia Gardens had degenerated into a notorious slum. It is for this reason that the philanthropist,

Angela Burdett-Coutts Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts ( Burdett; 21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906) was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Co ...

purchased the land, and, after the leases expired, established Columbia Market in 1869.

References and notes

*An alternate source for th
Newgate Calendar Volume V
(Tarlton Law Library) accessed 24 Jan 2007 * Harding, William, stenographer. The trial of Bishop, Williams, and May, at the Old Bailey, 2 Dec. 1831, for the murder of the Italian boy, Carlo Ferrier : exact copies of the original confessions of the prisoners Bishop and Williams, and full particulars of their conduct in Newgate, and the execution of Bishop and Williams / corrected and revised by W. Harding, short-hand writer. London : W. Harding, 831?31 pages; 22 cm (Available on Internet Archive)

External links

''Rory McGrath's Bloody Britain''
documentary {{London history 1831 in London 1830s murders in London 1831 murders in the United Kingdom English serial killers Executed British serial killers History of anatomy History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Murder in London Serial murders in the United Kingdom 1830s murders in the United Kingdom