Walton Bridle (The)

The “gossip’s or scold’s bridle.” One of these bridles is preserved in the vestry of the church of Walton-on-Thames. Iron bars pass round the head, and are fastened by a padlock. In front, a flat piece of iron projects, and, this piece of iron being thrust into the mouth, effectually prevents the utterance of words. The relic at Walton is dated 1633, and the donor was a person named Chester, as appears from the inscription:

“Chester presents Walton with a bridle

To curb women’s tongues that talk too idle.”

⁂ It is also called a “brank.” (Teutonic, pranque, “a bridle.”)

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.