The Birching Stool. This is the original birching stool from Minshull Street Courts in Manchester - the boy would've stood with his legs either side of the piece nearest the camera, leaning over the stool to present his back to the police officer administering the punishment. It's believed a pad would've protected the boy's lower back. A doctor was always present to attend to the boy's injuries afterwards. This was a very common punishment around the turn of the 20th Century - 3,385 carried out in England and Wales in 1900. This figure had dropped to 161 in 1936, and was finally abolished in 1948.