THE seventh commandment reads 'Thou shalt not commit adultery'. In these days it is broken with impunity. For many people, that matters nothing and the pleasure that the illicit relationship gives is paramount.

In the 16th century, bearing children out of wedlock was seen as a mortal sin.

One case of adultery was considered so serious that it gained a place in the Book of Record of the Borough of Kendal.

It concerned one Henry Wilson, a prominent and eminent citizen of the town.

He was a Burgess, a Justice of the Peace, and Kendal's first Alderman - the equivalent of a Mayor. He was highly honoured, of considerable influence and of great probity, setting an example to others.

His home was Black Hall, the building in Stricklandgate now guarded by the famous Bristling Hog.

Unfortunately, in 1579, he fell foul of temptation. He saw and was captivated by Jennett Eskridge, the wife of one Christopher Eskridge, and began an affair with her which led inexorably to adultery. Which of them was to blame no-one can tell but it was probably both sided.

The Magistrates of the Borough considered this an evil example to set before the residents and set in motion a suitable punishment.

He was called before them to explain and justify his action and failed miserably to do so.

It was decreed, and recorded in the official records, that "he was not meete to contynewe in the Offyce of Alderman".

He was ignominiously stripped of all his titles and burgess-ship and lost all his authority and standing in the community. His career and his very life were over.

Jennett did not escape punishment of her part in the offence.

She was taken in a cart through the main streets "to the Terror and Fear of other persons of evil disposition" and ordered to leave the town never to live there again unless she became reconciled to her husband and he consented to her living with him again.

He might not have wanted her back as she was soiled goods, having borne a child to Wilson.

The affair continued regardless and in 1583 it was reported and recorded that, "in former time, forgetting her duty to Almighty God and the solemn promise she made to her husband, she continued her incontinence and bore another child" to Wilson.

They had not learned their lesson. She was again carted through the streets and banished from Kendal, never to return unless she atoned for her sin and became reconciled to her husband.

It is highly unlikely that this happened and both Wilson and she faded out of history.

Women were more harshly treated than the men and could be forced to stand in the church and to do penance for their sins.

The last to do so stood in front of the pulpit in the Parish Church one Sunday morning in 1794, in bare feet, clad only in a white sheet, holding a white wand to make a public confession and to promise to end her evil ways.