Henry Trigg And The Coffin in The Roof

For centuries, physicians and scientists have dissected human bodies to understand human anatomy, with a steady supply of cadavers often sourced from executions. In medieval times, numerous people were executed even for minor crimes, offering medical students and surgeons a reliable supply. But as justice methods softened and executions declined, medical schools began facing a severe cadaver shortage. This scarcity fuelled the rise of “resurrectionists” — grave robbers who dug up newly buried corpses to sell to anatomy schools. In response, cemeteries adopted extreme measures: they hired guards, installed traps , and even encased graves in cages to thwart would-be body snatchers. Others temporarily housed bodies in “ mort houses ” until decomposition rendered them unusable to thieves. One man, Henry Trigg, developed an unconventional method to protect his own body from theft. “Resurrectionists” (1847), by Hablot Knight Browne. Henry Trigg lived in early 18th-century Stevenage, a small town in Hertfordshire, England. A prosperous grocer, he owned several shops and properties around town and was respected locally as both the warden of St. Nicholas’ Church and overseer of the parish. The story goes that one evening after a few drinks at the tavern, Henry and his friends were heading home along a route that passed by the churchyard. While walking past the gravestones they saw some body snatchers at work, removing the remains of the newly-buried corpse for sale to surgeons and students in training at a medical school. The sight disturbed Henry so deeply that he resolved to prevent such a fate from befalling his own body after death. Determined, Henry wrote a will where he requested that his body be placed in a coffin, and instead of burying at the churchyard, be placed upon the purlins and underneath the rafters of his barn.