Burrelton Community Council welcomes restoration of mort house, 26 Sept 2011
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The Mort House is believed to have been built to prevent grave robbers from stealing corpses to sell them to anatomy schools.
The Mort House at Kirkton of Collace is believed to have been built in the early 19th century to prevent grave robbers from stealing corpses to sell them to anatomy schools.
The B-listed building, which sits in Collace Churchyard, was used to store the corpses until they were beyond use for dissection. Bodies would only be taken from the Mort House and buried after decomposition had set in.
Otherwise, "resurrectionists" like the infamous Burke and Hare could dig them up and sell them to the anatomy schools in Aberdeen, St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Collace Mort House is one of only eight such structures with listed building status in the whole of Scotland.
It has been hidden behind hoarding for 15 years as the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust waited to secure funding from Heritage Lottery Fund, The Gannochy Trust and Perth and Kinross Council to carry out the work.
Martin Payne, secretary of Burrelton and District Community Council, said: "This day has been long-awaited by those of us in the community who have taken an interest in the heritage of Collace.
"Fifteen years has been a long time to wait for such a prominent building to be revealed once more. We are delighted that, after all these years of trying, work is about to proceed to save this historic building."
Councillor Alan Grant, convener of the council’s environment committee, added: "It is only fitting that this historic building should be revealed so that locals and visitors of all ages can see it, learn about its practical function and enjoy their heritage.
"This is part of a comprehensive programme that celebrates our heritage and the appeal of churchyards as historic places."
Work will be carried out to restore the stone and timber roof structure, using as many of the existing roof slates as possible, and repair the external walls.
This will allow the Mort House to be viewed by the public again after 15 years under cover because of its poor condition. The council expects the repairs to be completed in July 2012.
The Mort House is believed to have been built to prevent grave robbers from stealing corpses to sell them to anatomy schools.
The Mort House at Kirkton of Collace is believed to have been built in the early 19th century to prevent grave robbers from stealing corpses to sell them to anatomy schools.
The B-listed building, which sits in Collace Churchyard, was used to store the corpses until they were beyond use for dissection. Bodies would only be taken from the Mort House and buried after decomposition had set in.
Otherwise, "resurrectionists" like the infamous Burke and Hare could dig them up and sell them to the anatomy schools in Aberdeen, St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Collace Mort House is one of only eight such structures with listed building status in the whole of Scotland.
It has been hidden behind hoarding for 15 years as the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust waited to secure funding from Heritage Lottery Fund, The Gannochy Trust and Perth and Kinross Council to carry out the work.
Martin Payne, secretary of Burrelton and District Community Council, said: "This day has been long-awaited by those of us in the community who have taken an interest in the heritage of Collace.
"Fifteen years has been a long time to wait for such a prominent building to be revealed once more. We are delighted that, after all these years of trying, work is about to proceed to save this historic building."
Councillor Alan Grant, convener of the council’s environment committee, added: "It is only fitting that this historic building should be revealed so that locals and visitors of all ages can see it, learn about its practical function and enjoy their heritage.
"This is part of a comprehensive programme that celebrates our heritage and the appeal of churchyards as historic places."
Work will be carried out to restore the stone and timber roof structure, using as many of the existing roof slates as possible, and repair the external walls.
This will allow the Mort House to be viewed by the public again after 15 years under cover because of its poor condition. The council expects the repairs to be completed in July 2012.