Subscribers to the Corpse House in Kilbride Graveyard, 1831

On 29 January 1831 a meeting was held in Kilbride graveyard of those who had some claim to burial rights here. It was agreed ‘That a vault should be erected for the reception of the dead until such time as they are unfit for dissection.’

Among the rules drafted was that any body placed in the vault (also known as a corpse house or mort-safe) should be removed at the end of six weeks; a body not removed by the family by then would be removed after seven weeks and the family would forfeit any future right to the use of the building. Malcolm McConnell and Francis Lawson were given the keys to the vault. The names of those subscribing towards the construction of the vault were printed.