A RETIRED teacher from Droitwich has handcrafted a set of medieval stocks to help mark the 800th anniversary of the town’s Royal Charter.

Retired teacher Dick Jones, used traditional tools including side axes, an adze, a draw knife and a clog knife to shape the stocks in exactly the way they would have been made hundreds of years ago.

He said: “The wood for the stocks comes from an English oak that fell last winter in local farm woodlands. It was probably about 100 years old. I cut it up into planks on site in the woods with a homemade mill. I used most of the wood to make bench seats, carvings and traditional oak doors. The left-overs were used for the stocks.

“As far as possible I have used traditional construction methods such as pegged joints and handmade nails.”

The stocks will be out in use this Saturday afternoon for the town’s Charter Day celebrations.

Droitwich Spa mayor Graham Beale added: “Droitwich is a great place, and it's probably a good idea that however much we might like to, the law doesn't allow wrongdoers to be put in these punishment stocks, so that we can all throw rotten vegetables and eggs at them.

“However, if you come along to our Royal Charter Day celebrations in the town on Saturday, August 1, you can throw wet sponges at volunteers to help raise money for charity."