This is the third event in a series to highlight some of the pinfolds that are found within Derbyshire, with this one taking us to another well-preserved example on the outskirts of the village of Barlow.
Pinfold is derived from the Saxon Old English pundfald meaning an enclosure & the term was used largely in the north & east of the country. These enclosures were used specifically to house stray cattle or sheep which had wandered from their owners' land or which had been found grazing on common land without common rights. These would be rounded up & kept in the pinfold until they were claimed. To retrieve the animals, a fine would have to be paid to the pinder, who was an officer of the Lord of the Manor. It was a serious offence to break your animals out of the pinfold, punishable by a further fine or imprisonment! Occasionally the pinfold might be rented as a temporary holding pen overnight by drovers on their way to market. Although they date from much earlier, it is thought that by the 16th century, almost every settlement would have had its own pinfold & pinder. Sadly, most of these have been lost over the years, but some survive almost intact whilst others have been restored.
Barlow pinfold is found on Wilkin Hill & is very different from the pinfolds that we have visited so far. Dating from the early 1800s, it is constructed in a rectangular shape from dressed sandstone, with walls 2m high. There is a wooden door & wooden bars forming a grilled window. The lintel above the door has been defaced. This is because the name BARLOW was erased during World War II to prevent enemy paratroopers from immediately knowing where they had landed! There is a small layby nearby that will hold three or four cars for which I have provided a parking waypoint. But there should also be street parking available on Wilkin Hill. Please park considerately & do not drive to the event as there is no roadside parking on the narrow lane.
This short event will give us an opportunity to meet up safely outside for some geochat & to swap trackables in hopefully peaceful & beautiful surroundings. There are a few traditional caches in the immediate area along with plenty more not far away. There may even be a new cache published for the occasion...