Long used as an instrument of punishment for those found guilty of offences in London, the last person to spend time standing in the pillory in London (and indeed England) – at the Old Bailey – was Peter James Bossy.

The pillory consisted of a wooden device with holes through which the head and hands were placed, set upon a pole. The person being punished had to stand with their head and hands through the holes and were thus unable to defend themselves should refuse be thrown at them.

It was a very public and humiliating punishment, not to mention extremely uncomfortable, and had been used in London since medieval times.

Bossy was convicted of perjury by the London Oyer and Terminer and received a mixed sentence which an hour in the pillory at the Old Bailey followed by six months in prison at Newgate before being transported to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania in Australia) for seven years.

The pillory part of the sentence was carried out on 22nd June, 1830. After subsequently serving his sentence, Bossy travelled to Australia on board the Gilmore along with 223 other convicts, arriving in March, 1832.

Use of the pillory in England had been restricted by and 1816 Act of Parliament and was formally abolished in England and Wales in another act of 1837.