Cromdale Kirk

A pleasant walk along the flower studded bank if the Spey in glorious sunshine and afternoon heat made it very difficult to imagine the macabre threat which occasioned the building of the small building against the dyke in Cromdale Kirkyard. The present kirk replaced medieval church of St Moluag in 1812. The kirk is in an isolated position on the bank of the river some distance from the village. Because of its remote position it was necessary to guard against Resurrectionists who, prior to the 1832 Anatomy Act, regularly removed recently buried cadavars from remote kirkyards. The Anatomy Act ensures a legitimate supply of dissection material for medical students and at least in theory put an end to the need for watch-houses like the one at Cromdale which features in the extra. Watch-houses were built to give some shelter and protection to relatives of the recently deceased who kept watch for Resurrectionists until such time as the corpse was unsuitable for dissection.