Were these corpse-stealers the notorious ‘London Burkers’ (named after Burke and Hare)? Their discovery in 1831 brought about an Act of Parliament which allowed anatomists to use dead bodies from the workhouse for their research
“On Sunday morning, between three and four o’clock, a gang of corpse-stealers, in the employ of the anatomical lecturers, contrived to get possession of three dead bodies which had been placed in the bone-house of St. Sepulchre’s work-house, preparatory to interment. They were stopped by the watchmen in West-street, Smithfield, and a sort of general battle took place between the guardians of the night and the corpse-stealers, which ended in the capture of three of them; but in the mean time the rest of the gang succeeded in carrying off the dead bodies. Among those who came to the assistance of the watchmen were a number of Irishmen, who happened to be just then engaged in waking a dead friend of their’s (sic) in a garret near the scene of action. The battle over, they returned to finish their ‘Wake,’ but to their utter astonishment they found the room in darkness and their deceased friend missing. A loud and piercing howl instantly arose; and, again rushing forth, a party of them overtook their dead companion in Fox and Knot-court, in the possession of some of the corpse-stealers. A second fight took place, and eventually the Irishmen regained possession of the corpse an carried it back in triumph to its garret.”
The Stamford Mercury, 23rd September, 1831.