image creditIt's 1848. A cholera outbreak had recently swept through London, killing almost 15,000. Burial space was non-existent; as little as 300 acres had been allocated for the capital's needs and space was tight even without an epidemic. During the winter of 1848, the graveyards reached saturation point.
With nowhere to bury them, the dead began to pile up; corpses lay stacked beside churches, giving off an unholy stench. Recently-interred cadavers were dug up and discarded to make more room, while toxins seeped into the water supplies, increasing the chance of another outbreak. Simply, there was nowhere left to put the dead.
