The Tudor period was a time of great change and upheaval. There was a constant threat of rebellion, ongoing religious dissent and groups of vagrants and beggars roaming the streets. Harsh laws were made to deal with troublemakers and criminals, but there was no police force to enforce the law. Instead, communities appointed sergeants or constables to bring people to justice and the government appointed Justices of the Peace (magistrates) to hear the cases brought before them. In addition to sentencing criminals, Justices of the Peace also had to prevent riots, report people who did not attend church services and manage the building of poor houses, bridges, roads and jails.

Tudor punishments were very harsh. Hanging, burning to death, torture, whipping, being chained to stocks where people could pelt you with rubbish, dunking in a river or branding with a hot iron, these and other gruesome methods were accepted practice and according to many textbooks were commonly used.

Whipping was inflicted for serious offences such as robbery with violence and from 1531 also for vagrancy. In Leominster a whipping post was erected in Corn Square in 1604. Civic accounts are often a good source for studying the Tudor period. We know of this particular whipping post because in 1604 Jon Patres was paid 20 pence for a piece of timber to make the whipping post, 23 pence to John Wood for making the post, and 1 shilling to Haape to mend the bolts, unbolt the prisoner and make the irons for the whipping post.

Likewise the civic accounts attest to the existence of a pillory in Leominster, which was situated on the site of number 14 Church Street. A pillory usually consisted of two upright posts which were connected by two vertical flat boards. These boards had circular openings for the neck and wrists of the prisoner. In Leominster the pillory was covered with a roof, had open sides and was raised on a platform. The prisoner was forced to stand throughout his ordeal, being fully exposed to the public. This form of punishment was usually reserved for male offenders.

Stocks were used in the same way as the pillory, except that with stocks, the feet were bound. The HSMR records 4 stocks and whipping posts, such as the ones seen attached to Fownhope Church. According to law each parish had to have and properly maintain a set of stocks. The stocks were generally used to punish people who offended against public order, such as drunken behaviour.

The Corn Market Square also housed a cage, the Cage House. Humiliation was a large part of Tudor punishment and being locked in a cage in full view of passers-by must have been very degrading. In 1558 6 pence was paid for the mending of the lock. We know the cage was still in use in 1685 because 10shillings 6 pence were paid to "ye Carpenter for mending ye Cage and other worke."