The pinfold

A pinfold was the name given to an animal pound where stray livestock such as pigs, sheep and cattle were impounded in a dedicated enclosure until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding.

The village pinfold or pound was a feature of most English mediaeval villages, the word pinfold being Saxon in origin from pundfald and pund, both mean an enclosure, and there appears to be no difference between a pinfold and a village pound although the term pinfold seems to be more popular in the north and east of England whilst in the south and west the term pound is more often used.

Their size and shape varied, from a few square feet to more than an acre, square, rectangular, circular and irregular, provided they fulfilled their designated purpose of enclosing stray animals.

There was at least one pinfold in Bourne which was situated to the east of the town in that area around what is now Manning Road. There was once a Pinfold Lane nearer the town centre which no doubt marked the road to it but this was changed to Hereward Street in 1899, perhaps because a newly constituted cattle market was established in the vicinity and the name was altered to avoid confusion. There was also an artesian bore which was situated near the Marquis of Granby public house in Abbey Road, that is within close proximity to Hereward Street, and was known as the pinfold spring.

The pinfold was mentioned at the Easter vestry meeting on Monday 13th April 1868 when the minutes recorded that "reference was made to the bad state of the pinfold and the opinion appeared to prevail that if the matter was rightly represented to the lord of the manor (Lord Exeter) his Lordship would give orders for its being put into a proper state".

The pinfold was eventually closed although its location is remembered with Pinfold Road, a narrow lane on at the corner of Manning Road and dating from circa 1970 when agricultural land was being developed for industrial use, the road today being occupied by commercial properties and a large waste recycling centre.

Research by J D Birkbeck (1970) suggests that the name may have been chosen by the old Bourne Urban District Council because of this connection. When discussing the Enclosures Act of 1772 he said: "The road now called Manning Road was in existence and it seems to have been all part of Meadow Gate Road. Near its junction with Star Lane (now Spalding Road) was the pound, still surviving from mediaeval times."

References to the Bourne pound or pinfold are few but the Stamford Mercury did report a case in the Bourne County Court on Tuesday 14th July 1857 before Judge Edward Cooke which gives an insight into its activities:

Edward Beckett v John Foster: The amount of claim was 6s. Plaintiff deposed that both himself and defendant resided at Dyke, a hamlet of Bourne; that the latter was dike-reeve; that he had twice tendered him £2 2s. in payment for his two cows going upon the road sides, but that the money had not been accepted; that he had put the cows upon the roads, and that they had been ordered by the defendant to be taken to the Bourne pinfold. Plaintiff came to Bourne and paid the pinder 1s. to relieve the cows. This sum, together with 5s. for his loss of time in coming to Bourne, he sought to recover from the defendant. At this point of the proceedings, his honour stopped the case, stating that the actions would not lie, consequently there must be a non-suit, each to pay his own costs.