Used as form of punishment in parts of Europe for more than a thousand years, the pillory was made of two wooden boards with holes to secure the head and hands. Offenders were ordered to stand restrained in a public place where they were often the target of verbal and physical abuse by the mob who pelted them with rotten fruit, offal and animal waste. Occasionally, stones and other hard objects were thrown, sometimes resulting in serious injury or even death. It was formally abolished in England in 1837.

This pillory can be seen at the Corrective Services NSW Museum, Cooma.