Medical Malpractice

What happened to the graves at old lunatic asylums when they were redeveloped?

Does anyone know what happened to the graves at old lunatic asylums such as Great Warley in Essex? Were the bodies moved and reburied elsewhere? Same with Stangeways etc. I am researching this for a novel I am writing - any help much appreciated.

Public Comments

1. yes they would have been moved & only your local Council can really tell you where to look....usually when old graveyards are disturbed...they have to keep very good records and take memorial inscriptions from the headstones as well. your local Council, local record office and also the local family history society which is a group of family historians very well versed in the subject & would probably help you. also point to note - many people were paupers back then so would be buried in communal graves - normally as the north end of the cemetary.
2. they are usually dug up and buried in a mass grave elsewhere; often in a spot on a nearby cemetery (unmarked) as there are more dead people than alive we would run out of space if we did not do that In many countries this is happening with graves after about 30 years unless the family pays for another 30 years (like my parents in the netherlands)