n.
An enclosure where stray animals are confined.
tr.v., -fold·ed, -fold·ing, -folds.
To confine in or as if in a pinfold.
[Middle English pynfold, alteration of Old English pundfald : pund-, enclosure + fald, fold.]
pinfold
Dictionary:
pin·fold (pĭn'fōld') 
|
n.
An enclosure where stray animals are confined.
tr.v., -fold·ed, -fold·ing, -folds.
To confine in or as if in a pinfold.
| Archaeology Dictionary: pinfold |
[MC]
A small enclosure in which stray cattle were placed and only released to their owner on payment of a fine.
| WordNet: pinfold |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a pen where stray animals are confined
| Wikipedia: Pinfold |
Pinfold, in Medieval Britain, is an area where stray animals were rounded up if their owners failed to properly supervise their use of common grazing land. A fine had to be paid for their release.[1]
An alternative spelling/pronunciation was "poundfield", which implies a relation to the modern English word "[im]pound".[2]
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 term pinfold seems to be more popular in the north and east of the UK whilst in the south and west the term pound is more popular.
Originally built to hold animals which were found straying from their owners land or were found grazing on the common without common rights. The animals would not be released until a fine had been paid to the "pinder" who was an officer of the lord of the manor. Breaking into the pinfold to release the animals was an offence punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. They were also used by drovers taking their stock to market. The pinfold was used to pen the animals overnight for a small fee.
The size and shape of pinfolds varies, some are four sided: rectangular, square and irregular, others are circular. In size they vary from a few square metres to over 0.5 ha. Pinfolds are known to date from the medieval period. By the 16th century most villages and townships would have had a pinfold. Most of what remains today would date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Some, like Tockholes Pinfold in Lancashire are listed buildings but most have fallen into disrepair.[3]
The artist Andy Goldsworthy has produced a series of sculptures in several of the pinfolds in Cumbria.[4]
See also
- Pinfold, Lancashire — a hamlet in the civil parish of Scarisbrick, Lancashire
- Pound
- Village lock-up
References
- ^ "Patrick Brompton church and village" magazine; text by Jane Hatcher
- ^ Plaque on pinfold site in Higham, Lancashire
- ^ Plaque at Tockholes Pinfold, Lancashire Tockholes Pinfold
- ^ " Sheepfolds & Pinfolds, Cumbrian sculpture project by Andy Goldsworthy
External links
Media related to Pinfold at Wikimedia Commons- Google maps aerial view of a pinfold in Hougham, Lincolnshire
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pinfold". Read more |
