e author and antiquary,
kindly furnishes us with particulars of the Manchester pillory. "The
earliest notice of the pillory in Manchester," says Mr. Axon, "is in the
Court Leet Records, April 8th, 1624, when the jury referred the erection
of 'a gibbett' to the discretion of the Steward and the Boroughreeve.
Some delay must have occurred, for on April 8th, 1625, 'the jurye doth
order that the constables of this yeare, att the charges of the
inhabitants, shall cause to bee erected and sett vp a sufficient gibbett
or pilorye for the vse of this towne, in some convenient place about the
Markett Crosse, and to take to them the advice of Mr. Stewart and the
Bororeve. This to be done before the xxiiijth day of August next,
subpena xx^s.' This threat of a penalty was effective, and the careful
scribe notes _factum est_. The convenient place was in the market-place,
close to the stocks. The pillory remained, more or less in use, until
1816, when it was removed. Barritt, the antiquary, made a drawing of it,
which has been engraved. It was jocularly styled the 'tea table,' and
was used as a whipping place also. In the present century, it was not a
permanent fixture, but a movable structure, set up when required. One
pilloried individual, grimly jesting at his own sorrows, told an
inquiring friend that he was celebrating his nuptials with Miss Wood,
and that his neighbour, whom the beadle was whipping, had come to dance
at the wedding. During the Civil War, there was a pillory for the
special benefit of the soldiers, and it was removed from the Corn Market
in 1651."

The Rye pillory is still kept in the Town Hall, and we give a picture of
it from a photograph. The last time it was used was in 1813, when a
publican was put in it for aiding the escape of General Phillippon, a
French prisoner of war, who had been brought to this old Sussex town.
The pillory was erected on the beach, and the face of the culprit
turned to the coast of France. Mr. Holloway, the local historian,
supplied the late Mr. Llewellyn Jewitt with some particulars respecting
this example. "It measures," says Mr. Holloway, "about six feet in
height, by four in width. It consists of two up-posts affixed to a
platform, and has two transverse rails, the upper one of which is
divided horizontally, and has a hinge to admit of the higher portion
being lifted, so as to allow of the introduction of the culprit's head
and hands. Through the platform and the lower rail there