Funerals were an ever-present sight on the busy streets of Georgian London. On these occasions, where ceremony met city life, the cold customers of the funeral trade were paraded in one last show of wealth and status.

Boastful funerary processions caught the gaze of spectators with plumes, mutes and echoes of a heraldic past. Compared with the modern funeral, now frozen in time, funerals in the long eighteenth century looked otherworldly to onlookers.

Perhaps it goes without saying that this was not an entirely mournful audience, as malicious intent operated within; hands grabbed for the hearse, projectiles were thrown, and no spectator was safe from thieves.

Start your Spooky Season with death historian Dr Dan O’Brien, who will take us on a journey into the surprising world of funerary crime. Find out how order was maintained and discover what happened when it wasn’t.

Dr Dan O’Brien is a historian of death in long-eighteenth-century England, whose research primarily focuses on the development of the undertaking trade. Dan also talks publicly to a wide range of audiences on different themes in mortality history such as funerary gifts, sea burial and mourning jewellery. He has recently appeared on the After Dark podcast talking about the funeral of Queen Victoria, and spun a story of macabre funerary crime on Killing Time with Rebecca Rideal.

Booking essential as places are limited.

Timings: doors open at 18:15 and entry before then will be refused. The talk begins at 18:30 and lasts approximately 75 minutes, including a Q&A with the audience.

Conditions of entry: this event is recommended for anyone over the age of 16 years.

Tickets: there are two ways to attend this event, in person at Bow Street Museum, or online via a live stream (using Zoom).

Prices to attend at the Museum: £15 in person/ £6 online