Stocks and Pillories were used for humiliation. The stocks were a form of punishment. They were used for crimes that were not considered server crimes.

In 1495 law required vaggabonds to be in the stocks for three days, living on bread and water. By 1351 every town was required to have and maintain a set of stocks.

Crimes that required as a punishment the stocks were criems such as: Drunkeness ( 6 hrs at the stocks), drunkard (4 hrs) and swearing (1hr).
All these crimes could avoid the stocks, if the accused could pay the fine for the crime they committed.

stocks


pillories

Once a person was at the stocks they were " at the mercy of the mob". Once the accused was at the stocks the crowd would pelt them with literelly anything that could fit in their hands. The crowd threw vegetables and fruit that were rotten, mud, dead rodents especailly rats, excretment and stones.

The individual not only suffered humilation, abuse and mockey but also the pain of not been able to move. Some individuals evn had their ears nailed to the stocks to prevent them moving even more. Sometime in order to avoid the rotten vegetables and other items that were thrown at them, the accused would move and in the process rip their ears, which was exteremly painful.

Some people in history that suffered the humiliation and pain at the stocks:

Names	Reason For Been In The Stocks
John Waller	Robbery and Prejury
Ann Marrow	Fraud and Same Sex Marriges (three).
Vere Street Coterie	Homosexual Offences
Titus Oates	Prejury and the inventor of the Popish Plot