Sunday 9 March 2014

Henpecked Husband's Club



This is a little off topic, but yesterday I visited Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley, and within their collection they had a large wooden cot.  Above this the plaque read:
The Hen Peck'd Husbands Wife Taming Cradle
This giant cradle was made in 1862 for Henry Hargreaves Thompson..[who] had the cradle made for the Hen Peck'd Husband's Club.  The club had a rule book which is on display [in Cliffe Castle Museum].  The rue book said that husbands must get up early every day to do the chores and make their wives lives as pleasant as possible.  This would make the wives happier and would give them nothing to complain about.  If a wife continued to nag, a club member could hire the cradle. The angry wife was then placed comfortably inside and rocked by the club members until she felt calmer and happier.

 I'm not sure that there seems to be any downsides to this...

If any one has seen anything equally as amusing at a museum, please let us know!


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