In this case the pupil dropped trousers and underpants and was hit repeatedly with the birch. This was not a birch rod, but a cluster of thin birch branches, bound together, and looking much like the head of a besom (the broom used for sweeping leaves). That said, at Eton, during Victorian times, a recalcitrant pupil might be given the birch. It was not common for the cane to be given on the bare bottom, it was usually given over clothes, but in boarding schools it would often be given at the end of the day when the pupil was wearing pyjamas. A number of strokes were applied, sometimes only one or two, with six of the best being reserved for serious offences. Caning on the bottom was sometimes aided by the victim bending over a chair, or sometimes over a vaulting horse, but it was also possible that the pupil would just be told to bend over and touch his toes. If the hand was withdrawn, extra strokes were given. The schoolmaster would choose to cane the hand that was not used for writing, and three or six strokes were given, usually aimed to be placed across the fingers, which hurt more than the palms of the hand. It is usually accepted that caning on the hands was probably the more painful. The length of the cane was usually less than 1 metre.īoys were generally caned on their bottom or hands, while girls were often caned on the backs of their legs and also on their hands. The cane often had a curved or crooked handle. Birch was used for some canes and it was often kept in a tank so that it was wet and more pliable. Sometimes it was bamboo or rattan, but it was certainly also made out of other wood as well.

The cane was usually made of a thin wooden stick probably 10mm thick. In fact the cane was used in British schools into the 1970s I believe, although less often in the later years. Most schoolmasters would have used the cane for discipline, and it was not uncommon for senior pupils to use it on junior pupils as well. So far it seems that my post on school discipline Victorian-style has attracted the most views, so I shall say a little bit more about the cane.

Victoria orphan the most unknown