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A penal treadmill (penal treadwheel or everlasting staircase) was a treadwheel or treadmill with steps set into two cast iron wheels. These drove a shaft that could be used to mill corn, pump water, or connect to a large fan for resistance. [1] Penal treadmills were used in prisons during the 19th century in both Britain and the United States ...
British penal treadwheel. A treadwheel, or treadmill, is a form of engine typically powered by humans. It may resemble a water wheel in appearance, and can be worked either by a human treading paddles set into its circumference (treadmill), or by a human or animal standing inside it (treadwheel).
Treadmill at Brixton Prison in London, c1817, British Library. Note: The broadside features an illustration and description of a treadmill at Brixton Prison in London; it shows prisoners serving 'hard labour' engaged in grinding corn. The machine was designed by William Cubitt and was able to accommodate up to 24 prisoners at one time.
Hamster treadmill, a wheel found in a rodent's cage; Omnidirectional treadmill, a device that allows a person to perform locomotive motion in any direction; Penal treadmill, a treadmill that was used to extract labor from prisoners in Victorian prisons
Example of modern treadmill. A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place.Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of mill operated by a person or animal treading the steps of a treadwheel to grind grain.
Cell, with Prisoner at Crank-Labour, In the Surrey House of Correction, 1851 Crank machine model, from the Oxford Prison & Castle museum.. The crank machine was a penal labour device used in England in the 19th century.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Penal_treadwheel&oldid=740191463"This page was last edited on 19 September 2016, at 16:29 (UTC). (UTC).
Hard labour was defined as time spent on the penal treadmill, crank machine, capstan or on shot drill (passing cannonballs along a line); deliberately monotonous and pointless work. [ 14 ] [ 12 ] This returned prison life to the harsh standards of the early 19th century, undoing decades of reform which had sought to transfer the prison from a ...