The ducking stool is one of history’s more colourful punishments. It derives its name from “cucking stool” which was a commode in Saxon England and was primarily intended as a public humiliation that combined an element of entertainment with an occasionally horrifying result.
The Ducking Stool from Leominster parish Church
It remained in use from medieval times through until the early 19th century and was employed, mainly on women, who had been legally tried and found guilty of being “scolds.” A scold was a woman who nagged, gossiped, flirted, was argumentative, or quarrelsome. It acted as a harsh reminder of societies’ prejudices and efforts to control behaviour, especially of women.
Ducking stools were not originally designed for women but for chastising dishonest traders and only later evolved into a punishment for women. By the 1300s, immersion in water had become a part of the punishment, and the term “cucking stool” was used interchangeably with “ducking stool.”
Mechanically, it was made from a wooden chair or plank attached to a long pole, usually on wheels but sometimes stationary by a pond or stream. The miscreant was strapped to the chair and wheeled around the village or town, normally with tomatoes and debris being hurled at them. Often the punishment ended with just two or three drenchings while the crowd looked on, but occasionally a judge would pass a sentence of a hundred or more. Depending on the water’s depth, it ranged from a cold dip to a dangerous or even fatal experience.
Who Were the Targets?
The main aim of the judge was not to cause physical harm to the woman but rather public humiliation, and it was mainly employed for minor offenses. Though men occasionally faced the ducking stool, the legal process was often initiated by men against their wives, especially if he considered her over critical, nagging or quarrelsome. Gender roles were rigidly enforced throughout the Middle Ages when demeaning men was considered unbecoming.
Imagine the scene with a crowd gathered by the water’s edge, eagerly watching and cheering as the accused was submerged in the water, their fate on full view. Although the punishment did not harm in the same way as flogging or corporal punishment, accidents did occur and there are records of fatalities.
The sentence was sometimes extended to women accused of witchcraft, based on the belief that witches could not drown. If they floated, they were proven to be a witch, though if they sank they might drown. This was not always considered to be as bad as we think of it today, as it was felt that their soul would be saved. However, the use of ducking stools for witch trials was rare compared to hanging or burning.
As well as being pelted with debris, there were other humiliations that could be attached to dunking, including fitting the stool with irons to restrain the miscreant or even removing some of the woman’s clothing to embarrass her by putting her nether end on display to the crowds.
Rarely, for offenses such as dishonest trading or public brawling, men were subjected to a legal ducking. In these cases, the punishment was aimed at maintaining order and discourage bad behaviour or fraudulent practices.
Decline and Disuse
The ducking stool began to fall out of use in the 18th century as attitudes changed. Public punishments became less popular and society grew increasingly uneasy with ideas that mainly targeted women. The legal system also shifted towards fines and other penalties for minor offenses. The last recorded ducking was in 1809 in Leominster where Jenny Pipes was punished for using abusive language to her husband. Sadly, the event entirely failed to deter her and she continued her behaviour immediately afterward.
A final legal punishment was attempted in 1817 when Sarah Leeke was wheeled around on a ducking stool. However, the river was too shallow at the time for a proper soaking and she escaped with just the indignity of the parade.
The Scold and Society’s Expectations
The label “scold” was a versatile tool used for controlling women’s behaviour. Married women bore the brunt of it, as the term was rarely used to describe unmarried or widowed women. While officially intended to maintain public order, the ducking stool effectively reinforced the subservience expected of wives in a male-dominated society.
Regional Uses and Historical Examples
Records indicate that ducking stools were a common feature in many English towns, with some areas having a more pronounced history of their use. In Leominster, for example, a ducking stool existed from the early medieval period and one is still on display today in the town Priory.
More locally, Oxford, a hub of learning and justice, had its own ducking stool where women were subjected to this punishment for a variety of social offenses. An account from 1615 mentions Elizabeth Slyle and Kath Forrest being “well ducked” for scolding, a scene later immortalized in a ballad that detailed the humiliating ordeal with somewhat upbeat rhyme.
Then was the Scold herself,
In a wheelbarrow brought,
Stripped naked to the smock,
As in that case she ought:
Neats tongues about her neck
Were hung in open show;
And thus unto the cucking stool
This famous scold did go
Then fast within the chair
She was most finely bound
Which made her scold excessively
And said she should be drowned
But every time that she
Was in the water dipped
The drums & trumpets sounded brave
For joy the people skipped.
Other towns, such as Banbury and Windsor, also had ducking stools. These towns’ bustling nature and prominence as centres of commerce made public punishments more visible and served as a reminder to maintain order.
Today, ducking stools can also be found in Warwick’s Collegiate Church of St Mary and by the Old Weavers’ House in the centre of Canterbury, where the stool still perches over the Great Stour river.
Lastly, even today ducking stools and tanks still appear, but usually only for fun at charity events or village and school fates, where dunking a teacher is unsurprisingly popular. Now, although my wife, is an ex-teacher and may want to chastise me for mentioning it, I should remind her that scolding was a crime right up until 1967 when it was finally removed from statute books of England and Wales!
By Gerry Palmer