It seems that the debate that rages around the use of torture will never go away. Somehow, through every historical period, there is found a psychological justification for the use of painful coercion. The political application of these excessive measures were demonstrated in particularly nasty fashion during the reign of Queen Elizabeth with the use of one of the most evil tools known to this day, The Rack.
During her reign, torture was used not so much to gain confessions to determine guilt as it is in several countries today, but was rather applied to gain information once the presumption of guilt was already established. The presumption of guilt beforehand removed the emotive revulsion we might feel against it today. Rather it was used to further uncover plots and discover the methods of those deemed guilty. There was no sympathy for these unlucky chaps.
The rack is a rather ingenious device that can be used over a long period of time to stretch out (pun intended) the application of pain. It is a literal rack device upon which the hapless victim was stretched, and the turning of a wheel would elongate the structure, eventually dislocating nearly every joint in the body, slowly.
As dark as these methods seem, there is a morbid curiosity many of us share when learning about these ancient devices of pain, and London has museums a plenty to satisfy that darker curiosity. The Museum at the Tower of London is a great place to start, but by no means is it the only place you can view the infernal devices of pain. But you’ll need to stay in London for more than a weekend if you wish to see them all. If you seek out short term accommodation London will share it' dark secrets with you and you can explore the underbelly of history at a discount rate. When you rent holiday apartment London will cease to be a mere weekend getaway, but more like a second home, and you can peruse Britain’s dark past to your dark heart’s desire, affordably.