The lower stock is fixed to the ground. The stocks confine the victim s ankles, who is obliged to sit in that position, either on the ground or on a wooden bench. Some stocks have posts at each end, with runners in which the upper stock can slide up and down. More elaborate variations include additional holes to confine the victim s hands. These can be in separate stocks above the foot stocks, or in the same stocks, either between or outside the feet.
Stocks can usually accommodate two or more people.
The pillory A set of stocks with three holes, one in the centre for the neck, and two each side for the wrists. Like the stocks, the upper stock can be either hinged or in side runners. Pillories were usually either for one or two people. Although some pillories could accommodate more by fixing one end of each set of stocks to a central post, so the stocks were arranged like the spokes of a wheel. Last modified 1 September 2000.