as a means of punishment in the Royal Navy, whose ships were frequently to be seen around Deptford Dockyard and occasionally in the Pool of London. A somewhat lighter version was used in the Army. The naval cat had a handle of rope or sometimes of wood about 2ft long and 1in in diameter. Each of the nine tails or thongs was ¼in in diameter and 2ft long. They usually had one or two knots along their length.
The crew would be assembled to witness the punishment, with marines standing by with muskets and fixed bayonets. The offender was tied to an upright grating and stripped to the waist. Punishment was then inflicted by the bosun’s mates and the lashes were usually administered in multiples of six. The knots in the tails had the effect of lacerating the skin in a prolonged flogging and on occasions the flesh was stripped away to reveal the bones. When punishment was completed, the offender was cut down and usually swabbed with salt water to stem the bleeding.
The cat was sometimes used in civil prisons.
The Scavenger’s Daughter
On display in the White Tower at the Tower of London is this device also known as ‘Skeffington’s Gyves’. Leonard Skeffington was a Lieutenant of the Tower in the 1530s (though he is more likely to have adapted an existing device than to have invented one himself). Made of iron, this fiendish apparatus had spaces for the neck, the wrists and the ankles and it had the effect of compressing the body of the victim, inducing excruciating pain, especially in the abdominal and rectal areas. Its advocates considered that it induced more pain than the rack. It was probably the ideal torture machine. It was light and easily transported, and the mere sight of it was often enough to persuade a prisoner to cooperate fully with his inquisitors.
Whipping
Whipping was an economical punishment since little capital outlay was required. A common practice was ‘whipping at the cart’s tail’. The offender was stripped to the waist and tied to the back of a horse-drawn wagon. As the horse drew the wagon and the offender slowly through the streets, whipping would be administered at prescribed places, particularly at the scene of the crime. The more serious the offence, the longer the journey around town. This punishment involved public humiliation as well as pain. Sometimes the public were allowed to whip the offender as he passed by where they were standing. Whippings or floggings with a birch were also administered for various misdemeanours in prison.
Mutilation
Tongues that had uttered blasphemous, treasonable or otherwise unacceptable words might be ripped out or have a hole bored in them. The hand of a thief or assailant might be removed. The punishment of time in the pillory might be aggravated by the offender having his ears nailed to the woodwork. Prostitutes sometimes had their noses slit – perhaps this was intended to be bad for their business activities.
Branding
Branding was a handy punishment, combining as it did the administering of pain with the depositing of a permanent visible scar or stigma. Different letters were burned into the flesh to signify different offences. A ‘V’ indicated a runaway servant while ‘T’ was a thief and ‘FA’ was a false accuser. The law banned civil branding in 1829. Vagrants were frequently branded, which often made it difficult for them to ever become gainfully employed.
The Rack
The rack was used in the Tower of London to extort information and ‘confessions’ from, among others, those who thought up the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The victim was tightly secured to a table and attached to an apparatus which literally stretched him – several inches. The pull exerted was usually comparatively gentle at first but would be intensified by the torturer if he felt that his victim was holding back vital information. Every joint in the arms and legs would be dislocated, the spinal column dismembered and the muscles of the limbs, thorax and abdomen
The crew would be assembled to witness the punishment, with marines standing by with muskets and fixed bayonets. The offender was tied to an upright grating and stripped to the waist. Punishment was then inflicted by the bosun’s mates and the lashes were usually administered in multiples of six. The knots in the tails had the effect of lacerating the skin in a prolonged flogging and on occasions the flesh was stripped away to reveal the bones. When punishment was completed, the offender was cut down and usually swabbed with salt water to stem the bleeding.
The cat was sometimes used in civil prisons.
The Scavenger’s Daughter
On display in the White Tower at the Tower of London is this device also known as ‘Skeffington’s Gyves’. Leonard Skeffington was a Lieutenant of the Tower in the 1530s (though he is more likely to have adapted an existing device than to have invented one himself). Made of iron, this fiendish apparatus had spaces for the neck, the wrists and the ankles and it had the effect of compressing the body of the victim, inducing excruciating pain, especially in the abdominal and rectal areas. Its advocates considered that it induced more pain than the rack. It was probably the ideal torture machine. It was light and easily transported, and the mere sight of it was often enough to persuade a prisoner to cooperate fully with his inquisitors.
Whipping
Whipping was an economical punishment since little capital outlay was required. A common practice was ‘whipping at the cart’s tail’. The offender was stripped to the waist and tied to the back of a horse-drawn wagon. As the horse drew the wagon and the offender slowly through the streets, whipping would be administered at prescribed places, particularly at the scene of the crime. The more serious the offence, the longer the journey around town. This punishment involved public humiliation as well as pain. Sometimes the public were allowed to whip the offender as he passed by where they were standing. Whippings or floggings with a birch were also administered for various misdemeanours in prison.
Mutilation
Tongues that had uttered blasphemous, treasonable or otherwise unacceptable words might be ripped out or have a hole bored in them. The hand of a thief or assailant might be removed. The punishment of time in the pillory might be aggravated by the offender having his ears nailed to the woodwork. Prostitutes sometimes had their noses slit – perhaps this was intended to be bad for their business activities.
Branding
Branding was a handy punishment, combining as it did the administering of pain with the depositing of a permanent visible scar or stigma. Different letters were burned into the flesh to signify different offences. A ‘V’ indicated a runaway servant while ‘T’ was a thief and ‘FA’ was a false accuser. The law banned civil branding in 1829. Vagrants were frequently branded, which often made it difficult for them to ever become gainfully employed.
The Rack
The rack was used in the Tower of London to extort information and ‘confessions’ from, among others, those who thought up the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The victim was tightly secured to a table and attached to an apparatus which literally stretched him – several inches. The pull exerted was usually comparatively gentle at first but would be intensified by the torturer if he felt that his victim was holding back vital information. Every joint in the arms and legs would be dislocated, the spinal column dismembered and the muscles of the limbs, thorax and abdomen
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