Media library

Used in English towns and cities as early as 1574, scold’s bridles were employed to discourage individuals, usually women, who were judged to have spoken rebelliously, inappropriately or out of turn. Also known as a brank’s, or witch’s bridle, the grisly object has gone on show in the museum’s Leeds Story gallery as a sad reminder of a less enlightened age, having been originally collected by Morley historian Norrison Scatcherd.

Used in English towns and cities as early as 1574, scold’s bridles were employed to discourage individuals, usually women, who were judged to have spoken rebelliously, inappropriately or out of turn. Also known as a brank’s, or witch’s bridle, the grisly object has gone on show in the museum’s Leeds Story gallery as a sad reminder of a less enlightened age, having been originally collected by Morley historian Norrison Scatcherd.

Also on display is the impressive bell which once hung in Leeds’s Coloured Cloth Hall in 1758. Once the largest building in Georgian Leeds, the building was used as offices and housed the Council Chamber of the Trustees. In 1889 the Leeds Corporation paid £66,000 for the hall to clear it and make way for what is today City Square and the General Post Office building.

Also on display is the impressive bell which once hung in Leeds’s Coloured Cloth Hall in 1758. Once the largest building in Georgian Leeds, the building was used as offices and housed the Council Chamber of the Trustees. In 1889 the Leeds Corporation paid £66,000 for the hall to clear it and make way for what is today City Square and the General Post Office building.

Curator Kitty Ross with some of the clocks in the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection. The carefully curated collection of historic timepieces will be going on show at the Leeds Discovery Centre during a special family workshop exploring the art of clockmaking while looking at some of the museum’s objects.

Curator Kitty Ross with some of the clocks in the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection. The carefully curated collection of historic timepieces will be going on show at the Leeds Discovery Centre during a special family workshop exploring the art of clockmaking while looking at some of the museum’s objects.

Curator Kitty Ross with some of the clocks in the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection. The carefully curated collection of historic timepieces will be going on show at the Leeds Discovery Centre during a special family workshop exploring the art of clockmaking while looking at some of the museum’s objects.

Curator Kitty Ross with some of the clocks in the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection. The carefully curated collection of historic timepieces will be going on show at the Leeds Discovery Centre during a special family workshop exploring the art of clockmaking while looking at some of the museum’s objects.

Curator Kitty Ross with a 1970s Minitman digital bedside alarm clock from the Leeds collection. It will be featured alongside a number of historic Leeds-made clocks during next week's workshop.

Curator Kitty Ross with a 1970s Minitman digital bedside alarm clock from the Leeds collection. It will be featured alongside a number of historic Leeds-made clocks during next week's workshop.

Among the pieces featured in the event will be an elaborate painted clockfaces by Leeds artisans J C Elliott and G Winter, who both had local workshops in the late 19th Century, when many such small, family-run workshops would have been located in big cities like Leeds. An intricate early 20th Century Swiss-made wooden cuckoo clock and some classic examples of 19th and 20th Century carriage clocks are also included. They will be shown alongside a more modern, 1970s Minitman digital bedside alarm clock.

Curator Kitty Ross with a 19th century carriage clock. Among the pieces featured in the event will be an elaborate painted clock faces by Leeds artisans J C Elliott and G Winter, who both had local workshops in the late 19th Century, when many such small, family-run workshops would have been located in big cities like Leeds. An intricate early 20th Century Swiss-made wooden cuckoo clock and some classic examples of 19th and 20th Century carriage clocks are also included. They will be shown alongside a more modern, 1970s Minitman digital bedside alarm clock.