Did you know…the village pinfold
Did you know that a lot of old English villages had something called a pinfold?
A pinfold (or village pound) — was a small stone pens used to keep stray animals until they were claimed.
If a sheep, cow, pig or goose wandered where it shouldn’t, it might be taken there and kept until its owner came to collect it, usually for a small fee.
This really was a thing.
And naturally, it led to problems.
There were disagreements over ownership. Occasionally, attempts to retrieve animals without paying. And, in some places, fines for interfering with the enclosure itself.
It was medieval small-town drama. Just with more mud. And more pigs.
