Scold's Bridle

Scold's Bridle

The Scold’s Bridle was a form of punishment reserved only for women, and was designed to stop those who were deemed verbally unruly. The flat piece of metal or the ‘gag’ went into the woman’s mouth and the bridle was fastened at the back. From the seventeenth century, they are recorded as being used in England. This particular Scold’s Bridle came from Carrington and is thought to date from the nineteenth century.

Trafford Local Studies Collection, cat. ref. TRA/5/7/1122

Circa nineteenth century

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