The ducking stool was in which shrewish offenders were bound and plunged in water as a punishment and torture. They were of different forms, but that most commonly in use consisted of an upright post and a transverse movable beam on which the seat was fitted or from which it was suspended by a chain. The penalty was inflicted on scolds of both sexes, quarrelsome married couples being immersed tied back-to-back. Ducking stools were extensively used throughout Britain from the 15th until the beginning of the 18th century, the last recorded use of the ducking stool in England was in 1809 at Leominster. Research Ducking Stool
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