Animal Pound
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An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding.


Etymology

The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origin. ''Pundfald'' and ''pund'' both mean an enclosure. There appears to be no difference between a pinfold and a village pound. The person in charge of the pinfold was the "pinder", giving rise to the surname ''Pinder''.


Village pound or pinfold

The village pound was a feature of most
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
villages, and they were also found in the English colonies of North America and in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. A high-walled and lockable structure served several purposes; the most common use was to hold stray sheep, pigs and cattle until they were claimed by the owners, usually for the payment of a fine or levy. The pound could be as small as or as big as and may be circular or square. Early pounds had just briar hedges, but most were built in stone or brick, making them more stock-proof. The size and shape of village pounds varies. Some are four-sided—rectangular, square and irregular—while others are circular. In size they vary from a few square metres (some square feet) to over . Pounds are known to date from the medieval period. By the 16th century most villages and townships would have had a pound. Most of what remain today would date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Some are listed buildings, but most have fallen into disrepair. Although commonest in England, there are also examples in other countries. "There was hardly a town in eighteenth-century
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
without its town pound..." The '' Sussex County Magazine'' in 1930 stated: In some mountainous areas of northern Spain (such as
Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
or
Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...
) some similar enclosures are traditionally used to protect
beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
s from bear attacks.


Cultural references

The artist
Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy (born 26 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings. Early life Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire on 26 Ju ...
has produced a series of sculptures in several of the pinfolds in Cumbria."Sheepfolds & Pinfolds, Cumbrian sculpture project by Andy Goldsworthy"
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See also

* Kraal *
Pen (enclosure) A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. It may also perhaps be used as a term for an enclosure for other animals such as pets that are unwanted inside the house. The term describes types of enclosures that may confine one or many animal ...
*
Scarisbrick Scarisbrick () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Lancashire, England. The A570 road, A570, the main road between Ormskirk and Southport, runs through Scarisbrick, and much of the village lies along it. As a result ...
, Lancashire, in which is the hamlet of Pinfold *
List of extant pinfolds in Cheshire A pinfold was a structure into which straying animals were placed until they were retrieved by their owner on payment of a fine. Other terms for the structure were ''penfold'' or ''pound''. These names were derived from the Old English words ' ...
*
Village lock-up A village lock-up is a historic building once used for the temporary detention of people in England and Wales, mostly where official prisons or criminal courts were beyond easy walking distance. Lockups were often used for the confinement of dru ...
*
Poundmaster A poundmaster, or poundkeeper, was a local government official responsible for the feeding and care of stray livestock such as domestic pigs, cattle, horses, sheep, and geese. This was common in colonial America and continued into the 19th centur ...


Notes


References

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External links

{{Commons category, Village pounds
photos of examples of village pounds today on geographGoogle maps
aerial view of a pinfold in Hougham,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
Agricultural buildings Animal equipment Animal welfare Buildings and structures in England Buildings and structures used to confine animals Society in medieval England