London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of London 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]
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102
REMOVAL OF HUMAN REMAINS.
During 1902 there were five cases in which human remains were disinterred
in the City under the supervision of your Medical Officer of Health, and
re-interred elsewhere.
It is not lawful to remove a body from one consecrated place of burial to
another without a faculty granted by the Ordinary for that purpose, and it is,
further, illegal to remove any body, or the remains of any body, which may
have been interred in any place of burial except with a License under the
hand of one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, and with such
precautions as such Secretary of State may prescribe as the condition of such
license.
In cases where churches are demolished and parishes united under the
Union of Benefices Acts, 1860 and 1898, bodies are removed and re-interred
under an "Order in Council."
There is a fourth course occasionally adopted in obtaining authority to
exhume bodies, viz., by Act of Parliament. This procedure was followed in
the case of Christ's Hospital, referred to below.
It is estimated that the remains of no less than 4,051 persons were dealt
with during 1902.
The following is a summary of these proceedings:—
| Place. | Number of Bodies dealt with. | Authority for Removal. |
|---|---|---|
| Allhallows', London Wall | 2,368 | Faculty. |
| St. Ethelburga, Bishopsgate | 80 | Faculty. |
| Christ's Hospital | 91 | Act of Parliament. |
| St. George's, Eastcheap | 1,420 | Order in Council. |
| Newgate Gaol | 92 | License from Home Secretary. |
ALLHALLOWS, LONDON WALL.
In this case the remains were exhumed from the churchyard at the Eastern
end of the church, upon which a "shelter" adjoining the building was erected.
The excavations for the foundation involved the examination and removal
of 265 loads of earth, in which were found enough bones to fill 102 cases,
estimated to represent the remains of 2,368 persons. These were re-interred