It
consisted of an iron band that fitted around the head on
the level of the mouth, with another band which went over
the top of the head; in the lower section there was a piece
of metal that pressed down on the tongue and silenced the
wearer. The contraption would be fastened with a padlock
and the offender then led through the streets as an object
of derision and ridicule.
It
appears that this punishment was still evident in the late
eighteenth century, for at Warrington an inmate of the workhouse
had the 'distinction' of being the last person to suffer
the indignity of the Scold's Bridle.
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