Misty mountain

" The Tumbrel (Trolley) is all that remains of a DUCKING STOOL used as a means of punishment for several centuries. When complete it consisted of a chair fixed to the end of a long wooden beam. A metal pivot enabled this to be raised and lowered using the see-saw principle. The offender was fastened in the chair with iron bands and wheeled through the streets. The chair was then repeatedly immersed in water usually at a nearby pond depending on the number of duckings that has been ordered.

A similar device known as a CUCKING STOOL was first recorded in Anglo-Saxon times. It was often used for dishonest bakers and brewers of adulterated beer. The Cucking Stool came into use in the late 16th century. Those punished included scolding wives, women of immoral character or suspected of witchcraft and even quarrelsome married couples. The punishment had been stopped by the 19th century.

The Tumbrel of the Ducking Stool has been in the Crypt for over 200 years."



Few weeks ago I visited Warwick city few kilometers away from Birmigham. I had the chance to visit the Church of Virgin Mary. When I visited the Crypt I found very interesting the Ducking Stool. You can see in the real photo the rest of this wooden object and read the description for its use (transcripted above for easy reading).

I personally found it very interesting tool because this physical exposure to the public is something that I believe can have a personal effect to the offender. Maybe more than staying in prison. I have never seen something similar in my country or elsewhere. I believe that public opinion and anger of people against various public offences (yes, fires included) would be like a psicological slap for them.

The Church of Virgin Mary has been a place of prayer for more than 800 years. In 1694, a big fire destroyed significant parts of the church. Queen Ann financed the reconstruction of the Church and different personal objects of hers are exposed in this church.

The church is very large and there is the mentioned Crypt where rests from the initial Normandic church dated on 1123 are visible. In a small room for the Clerical Council there is the simple style tomb of Ffulke Greville, an ancestor of the actual count of Warwick. It is actually believed that the ghost of F. Greville exists in the Warwick castle (is this perhaps the reason of the entrance ticket of 19 £ ?). The tombs of other counts were also exposed.

Another interesting and unusual feature of the Church was some shelves used for bread distribution to poor people. This service was in function still until recently.


For more photos you can visit my related folder here.