Catholic Mission of St Mary and St Michael (Bishop Challoner School), Lukin Street, Whitechapel (LUK04)
12 February 2008
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Analysis of nearly 750 individuals buried between 1843 and 1854 is drawing to a close at MoLAS. It is suspected that many of those buried here had arrived in London from Ireland.
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Partially legible coffin plates were recovered from 194 contexts. Tooth notches, resulting from habitual pipe smoking, are seen in a quarter of the men. The number of fractures is high, with a male bias that may indicate occupational risks. Deformities caused by wearing corsets or stays have been seen, and we will be working with the Museum of Londons department of Fashion and Decorative Arts to determine if we can say more about the effects of clothing on the Victorian body.
Of the infants we have examined so far, a large number were suffering from rickets, and almost all of these had died before the age of 5 years. No evidence of resolved rickets has been seen in the adults and it may be that your chances of survival were low if your diet or lifestyle was deficient.
The database will hold the records for all burials reorded. Results are to be published in a synthetic monograph comparing three cemetery assemblages from eastern London: Sts Mary and Michael, Sheen’s Burial ground and the Baptist Burial ground in Bow. Further information on accessing this data will be avaible here following publication.
For information on MoLAS sites please contact the Head of Osteology.