A room with a view.

In Britain, prior to 1832, the only legal source of human corpses for dissection and the teaching of human anatomy were those of executed murderers. Despite the fact that the 1752 Murder Act made penal dissection mandatory for convicted killers, there was a great shortage of bodies for dissection. This shortfall was made good by body-snatchers who dug up newly buried bodies for the anatomy schools. Although most body snatching was carried out by criminals, the anatomists and their students were not above getting their hands dirty, as evidenced by a passage in the Burial Register of our local Kirk at Foveran.

"7th March 1770. Interred James Christall, lawful son of Robert Christall in Cotton of Mains of Foveran. His grave is upsides with Andrew Raneys at the back of the aisle. He died in the lands of Belhelvie, and was found by some traveller on the 5th of March, carried to the Kirk of Belhelvie, where he was to remain till he was put in a coffin. But the doctors of the infirmary broke the windows of the windows of the Kirk and carried him to Aberdeen; but the minister of Foveran, sending him some letters to the magistrates and doctors they were obliged to send him in a hears at Foveran and fined for their indecent behaviour."

Some time afterwards the Kirk Session had this watch-house built at the edge of Foveran kirkyard; an upper window gives a clear view of the graveyard. Relatives and friends would keep an overnight vigil in the watch-house for several weeks after a burial, until the body was too corrupt to be of interest to the anatomists.