They went from Body Snatchers to mass murderers
Doon the close and up the stairs
Bull and Ben wi Burke and Hare
Burke's the Butcher, Hare the Thief
And Knox the boy that buys the beef
In the 1690 Dr Archibald Pitcairn was dissecting bodies in the name of science.
He had an agreement with the town magistrates to claim all the people the died in the house of correction.
This was to the benefit of both parties, the Doctor got the bodies he needed to continue his work
and the town did not have to pay for the burials.
This was later extended to the bodies of unknowns that died on the streets.
A century later Edinburgh's College of Surgeons had so many students, that there was not enough bodies to go around. So some citizens saw a way to make a very good living in the most macabre way grave robbing. St. Guthbert's, near Edinburgh castle and one of the oldest churches, became a popular hunting ground for body snatchers. At the witching hour armed with lantern and shovel they would perform the gruesome task. Even students of the college, in the quest for knowledge of course would turn their hand to body snatching. The person who undertook these grisly deeds were given the ironic nickname of "Resurrectionists"
In the 1790's three men were born, who would eventually become part of folklore
A picture of William Burke as he appeared in court
Burke was born in Orrey County Cork in 1792. Born into a poor but respected family. Wanting William and his brother Constantine to have a better life they managed to give them a better then normal education. After leaving school and trying many trades Burke decided to join his brother in the Donegal Militia. The regiment was disbanded and Burke returned home to his wife and found a job as a body servant to a local gentleman which he did for three years. It is not known exactly why Burke abandoned his wife and family. He headed to Edinburgh to work on the construction of the Union Canal were labourers were in high demand
A picture of William Hare as he appeared in court
The life of William Hare before he came to Edinburgh is largely a mystery. About the same age as Burke also born in Ireland maybe County Derry. Hare had no education and was reportedly a very brutal man. Before coming to Edinburgh it was possible he was a farm worker or like Burke a soldier
A picture of Dr. Robert Knox giving a lecture
Knox was born in Edinburgh 1791 and as a young boy attended George Heriot High School. In 1810 he enrolled in medical classes at Edinburgh University. He graduated four years later at the age of 23. A year later he became assistant surgeon in a military hospital in Brussels attending the wounded of Waterloo. He stayed with the military for many years and traveled to South Africa, he returned in 1821 a skilled surgeon. Two years later Knox was set up in Edinburgh and at the height of his career had over 500 students
Burke and Hare arrived in Edinburgh in 1818 to work on the Union Canal. This was completed in 1822 after which Hare became a hawker (street seller). While working he met and became friends with a lady named Margaret Log her husband owned a lodging house
In Tanners Close. Shortly after they met Mr Log died and Hare married Margaret and inherited the lodging house. On the other hand Burke had met his partner while working on the canal a woman by the name of Helen MacDougal. Burke tried many jobs when the work on the canal had finished such as farm worker ditcher and shoemaker. According to Burke's confession he never met Hare until November 1827, when he and Helen MacDougal met Hare's wife, they had known her before in passing. They had a drink and Burke had mentioned that he was headed to the West Country to find work as a cobbler. Hare's wife suggested they had the small room in the lodging house and he could use the cellar to set up his workshop.
A picture of the Lodging House in Tanners Close
There was an old soldier called Donald who had been staying at the lodging house for some time one morning he was found dead and Hare felt cheat because the man owed him rent. Burke and Hare had heard tale of the money that could be made by grave robbers, so he must have thought this was a way to recoup some of the money he had lost in rent when Donald died. When the coffin arrived Donald was placed inside. Once alone. Hare reopened the coffin removed the body and filled the coffin with bark and bundled Donald's body in a sack. Burke and Hare then went to the College of Surgeons and from there were directed to Dr. Knox in Surgeon's Square. Here they met some of Knox's associates and told them they had a body to sell. They asked no question and told them to return after dark. They did as instructed and returned later that evening with the body, again they met the three young men who told them to take the body up the stairs and lay it on the dissecting table, this they did. At this point Dr. Knox entered the room, he ask one of the young men to settle the agreed price of �7.10s. Knox also asked no question about how Burke and Hare had come by the body. when they were bid farewell they were told they would be happy to see them again when they had another body to sell. Burke and Hare returned to their partners to tell them the tale of their small windfall and celebrate.
A picture of Surgeon's Square Edinburgh dated 1826
Burke and Hare for a while turned their hand to grave robbing but demanded for the bodies was so great they embarked on another way to provide Knox with what he wanted. Joseph was lodging with Hare for some time when he had come down with a fever as had some others in the town
Fearing that if word got out it would damage the lodging house business the Hares decided to help Joseph on his way. So as not to damage of mark the body Burke took a pillow and placed it over Joseph face while Hare held him down. Joseph was then taken to Dr. Knox. An Englishman staying at the lodgings for a few nights had also become ill. Seeing the opportunity to make some money, again the men smothered the gentleman and delivered him to Knox. Another victim was an old lady from Gilmerton that had been befriended by the Hares. They invited her to the lodgings and got her drunk, Hare then smothered her while Burke held her down. The pair went to Surgeon's Square with the body and Dr. Knox "approved of it being so fresh" but still asked no questions. Mary Patterson was a pretty teenage prostitute, while drinking with her friend Janet they had met Burke. He invited them back to his lodgings for a drink. Mary became very drunk but Janet had kept her head and left. She went to her friend Mrs Lawrie, who sent Janet back to the house with her maid to collect Mary. When they arrived Burke and Mary were no longer there, instead they met Hare and his wife. They invited them for a dram to wait for Burke and Mary to return. Unknown to Janet, Mary was just a few feet away dead. The maid return home and explained the situation to Mrs Lawrie. Mrs Lawrie sent the maid back to the house and insisted that Janet left at once. This had no doubt saved Janet's life. No doubt she would have been next. Over the next few months Burke and Hare had become bolder. The evil pair went on to kill another 10 people. Burke had move out of the lodging house with Helen and into their own place, the murderers now had two place to carry out their evil work Jamie was a big strong young man of 19 but with the mind of a child. Jamie had run away from home after an argument with his mother. He was living on the streets doing odd jobs to survive. Young Jamie's fate was sealed when one day he met Burke and Hare. Burke's confession had said it was Hare's wife that had brought Jamie home, no matter how poor Jamie got there he was murdered and taken to Dr.Knox. When Jamie's body was unpacked some of the students recognized Jamie but Knox denied it was him, when Jamie was missed on the street Knox quickly ordered his dissection. On Halloween Burke was in a local tavern when an old lady came in begging Burke saw his chance and started talking to the old women. He discovered she was Mary Docherty and was here from Ireland looking for her son. Burke managed to convince her that he was a distant relative and she accepted an invite back to his house. Burke left her with MacDougal while he went to buy whiskey for the party and tell Hare he had their next victim. That night they had a great party with lots of whiskey and dancing. At the time Burke had a young soldier by the name James Gray and his family lodging with him. He arranged for them to stay at the Hares so Mary could have their room. The next morning Mrs gray returned to the Burke's to collect her child's stockings Burke was behaving oddly and would not let her into the room. Later that morning Burke had gone out and when Mrs Grey was alone in the house she went over to the bed and lifted the straw, she discovered the body of Mary Docherty. By the time Helen MacDougal had returned Mr Gray was there. MacDougal begged them not to tell a soul about what they has seen and said their silence would be worth �10 a week. Mrs Gray was shock by what she had seen and by the offer for her silence. Mr and Mrs Gray went straight to the police Burke and MacDougal were taken into the police station and interviewed, in the mean time a tip had led the police to Surgeon's Square where they found the body of Mary Docherty. The Hares were also arrested and interviewed. The questioning went on for a month and at the end the police decided they did not have any real evidence to convict the pair. The best chance they had was to offer the Hares a chance to turns King's evidence, by doing this the Hares would avoid execution. They quickly agreed. Burke was charged with the murder of Young Jamie Wilson and the pretty Mary Patterson. and Burke and MacDougal were charged with the murder of Mary Docherty
The trial commenced on Christmas eve among the witnesses was both the Hares. It took the jury less then an hour to reach a verdict. Helen MacDougal was set free with a verdict of not proven. Burke was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging and then his body was to be publicly dissected.
Burke was hanged in front of 25,000 people on 28th January.
After the public dissection his skeleton was put on display
Helen MacDougal and Margaret Hare were hounded wherever they went
and eventually disappeared into obscurity.
Doctor Knox was never charged with any crime but the people of Edinburgh were
not happy he was involved. Eventually he left Edinburgh and move to Glasgow
and then to London where he died in 1862.
Hare the mass murderer was set free he was last sighted in England.
A picture show Burkes execution.
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