Got a real dose of 19th century authority in November 2025 on a trip to Ripon, which has museums preserving a prison, police station, court and workhouse!
This building was originally the house of correction and then became the station for Ripon's police force.
There are a series of exhibits in the former cells, explaining the transition from watchmen and constables, through to the uniformed police.
Plenty of material to show how punishment has changed over time - the image below is of a birching stool, this one came from Leeds police station and was last used in 1920. The slats allowed the height to be adjusted; have to say I was a bit shocked at how small a child it had been designed to accommodate.
The courthouse used for petty and quarter sessions is also preserved - it was in use from 1830-1998 (I'm in the dock here, facing the bench!).
Finally, I explored Ripon Union Workhouse - the 'long-stay' facilities are currently being renovated, but it was still possible to explore the large buildings setup for 'vagrants'.
Individuals were allowed a two night stay, were bathed on admission and had their clothes taken away for fumigation before being given access to spartan cells. Wherever possible they had to work whilst in the building and could not then return to Ripon for a prescribed period.
All three buildings were swarming with school trips - made me stop and wonder which aspects of contemporary society are going to be mainstays of educational visits in the future!