The Mort House. Also known as a ‘corpse house’ was built in 1831 and stands in the corner of an ancient graveyard.
At this time, grave robbing was a growing problem.
After new burials had taken place, men would dig up the graves and steal the deceased’s jewellery or other possessions that they had been buried with.
Body parts were sometimes stolen and sold for medical experimentation on the black market.
Then they built Mort Houses which were then used to store the bodies until they had entered an advanced state of decomposition until they were buried. This then put off any potential grave robbers and the dead were left in peace.
The door inscription reads ‘Built 1831’.
The racks still remain where the coffins would have rested allowing for the bodies to decompose.
