Building    From 1821  To 1829

St Mary Rotherhithe watch-house

Categories: Law

The building, situated close to the church of St Mary the Virgin, was used by a watchman or constable whose job was to to look out for wrongdoers; particularly grave-robbers or 'Resurrection Men' as they were known. Body snatching was rife in this area, because of its proximity to Guys Hospital which required fresh corpses for medical research. The watch-house closed when the Metropolitan Police was formed.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
St Mary Rotherhithe watch-house

Commemorated ati

St Mary Rotherhithe watch-house

St My Rotherhithe watch-house 1821.

Read More

Other Subjects

Culloden - prisoners

Culloden - prisoners

3,470 prisoners were taken, men women and children, and it was decided that they should all be tried in England.  Seven ships carried them from Inverness on 10 June 1746.  Their destinies were vari...

Group, Law, Tragedy, Scotland

1 memorial
Councillor Leonard Pearl

Councillor Leonard Pearl

Leonard Pearl was born on 6 August 1908 in Mile End, London, one of at least nine children of David Pearl (1886-1919) and Rachel Pearl née Solomon (1868-1934). In the 1911 census he is shown as liv...

Person, Armed Forces, Law, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
German prisoners of war at Alexandra Palace - WW1

German prisoners of war at Alexandra Palace - WW1

Over 17,000 German and other civilian prisoners of war were interned at Alexandra Palace between 1914 and 1919. British Association for Local History says up to 3,000 internees slept in rows of pla...

Group, Law, Germany

1 memorial
125 deaths on Tower Hill

125 deaths on Tower Hill

Wikipedia lists only 36 (in 2011).  Most of the victims that we have researched are recorded as having been beheaded but A London Inheritance, quoting John Stow (c. 1598), refers to "a large scaffo...

Group, Execution, Law

1 memorial
F. E. Smith, Earl Birkenhead

F. E. Smith, Earl Birkenhead

Lawyer and politician. Born Frederick Edwin Smith in Pilgrim Street, Birkenhead. Called to the bar in 1899 and entered parliament in 1906. He became Attorney-General and Lord Chancellor. Successful...

Person, Law, Politics & Administration

1 memorial