This is the fourth 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 near the small village of Hazelwood.
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.
Hazelwood pinfold, also known as Firestone pinfold from the name of the road it is found on, is another rectangular pinfold but with lower stone walls a little over a metre high with an opening in the south east corner. This would once have held a gate but the stone gatepost has broken where the upper hinge was positioned & the gate itself is long gone. Little is known about the origins of this pinfold other than it is listed as Post Medieval in county records. During the summer months the walls are almost entirely hidden by bracken & other vegetation meaning that the pinfold is often overlooked by passers by. Fortunately, it is much more obvious at this time of year. There is a large layby immediately north of the pinfold which should provide ample parking.
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 plenty of caches not far away on a lovely walk if you haven't done the series. There may even be a new cache published for the occasion...