This is the twelfth & final event in a series to highlight some of the pinfolds that are found within Derbyshire, with this one taking us to a restored example in the popular Peak District village of Hathersage.
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.
Found on School Lane, Hathersage pinfold is another example of a restored pinfold, looked after by Hathersage Parish Council. It was restored earlier this century after falling into disrepair & becoming overgrown. It is rectangular in design with high walls made from local gritstone. It has an iron access gate which is sadly padlocked & a grassed central area. The Peak National Park have provided their standard information board for the pinfold, although this is in need of repair.
This short event will give us an opportunity to meet up safely outside for some geochat & to swap trackables in hopefully peaceful & beautiful surroundings. I have provided a waypoint for suggested street parking & a couple of unusual attributes that hopefully won't be required! Please park considerately as spaces are likely to be limited in fine weather & maybe consider lift sharing, if possible. You can also use public transport to reach Hathersage by rail or bus. There is a good range of caches in the area, if you haven't found them already. There may even be a new cache published for the occasion...