Udny Mort House, Morthouse in Udny Green, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Udny Mort House is a circular granite structure with a slate roof and thick oak doors reinforced with iron, located in Udny Green. The interior features a rotating platform that held multiple coffins in a methodical arrangement for storage.
Built in 1832, the morthouse was created when body snatching threatened local graveyards and supplied cadavers to medical schools. The design made bodies unsuitable for dissection after months of storage, solving a pressing community concern.
The structure shows how a small community addressed the difficult question of protecting the dead with dignity and local custom. Inside, the rotating design reflects a practical response to a real problem people faced in their daily lives.
Access to the interior requires careful movement due to the confined space and narrow doorway, so advance contact with the site manager is advisable. The best time to visit is during daylight hours when natural light illuminates the interior details.
The three-month storage period inside rendered bodies unsuitable for medical dissection, making it an effective deterrent against grave robbers. This approach was cheaper and more socially acceptable than other protective methods used elsewhere.
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