• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Pinfolds and Pounds of Birmingham and its suburbs

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
I think this Warren Blackham painting (late 1800s) shows the smithy opposite the old Boar's Head on Aldridge Road (small building to the right). There's a cluster of horses in front of it so it seems quite likely it was a smithy. The painting must also have included the local pound. A couple of other things I've picked up is the Boar's Head has been known by other names; Gough's Arms and Turner's Beerhouse. In 1818 Gough's Arms was run by Thomas Cooper, Farmer and Vitualler.

Viv.

View attachment 103164
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    56.3 KB · Views: 1
Last edited:
Vivienne14 said:
There was an animal pound next to the BH to house stray animals until they were claimed. Would this have been through the gates to the right or the field t the left? Viv.
Click to expand...
There is this photo of the 'Old Pound Perry Barr' but unfortunately no information about its location. Maybe with a detailed map and looking at the layout of the roads in the photo it might be possible to find it.

When I do some photo editing on the image the pole in the middle is a 14 bar telephone pole and there is a building behind the trees on the right which has a tall chimney ... also a sign post which I cannot read at the moment ....
View attachment 103165
Image from https://www.search.birminghamimages...479&PageIndex=1&KeyWord=old pound&SortOrder=2
 
Great photo Phil. Think this is it comparing it to one of your earlier posts you can just see the signposts under the the tree in the photos. So Boar's Head is to left of photographer, Aldrdge Road off to the left ahead, College Road off to the right. I imagined the pound t be next to the pub, but this confirms it was in a field. Viv.

View attachment 103167View attachment 103168
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    95.8 KB · Views: 1
  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    115.6 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
Pinfolds were places where stray animals could be held until reclaimed on payment of a fine. These were in use from medieval to Victorian times.

Pinfold Street
There was a Pinfold in Pinfold Street, somewhere near Dudley Street. Pinfold Street takes its name from the "pound" or "pinfold" that existed there prior to 1752. There's mention of the Pinfold on the Pinfold Street thread here:
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/pinfold-street.45498

Hagley Road (from Showells Dictionary)
There used to be one "of these receptacles for straying animals near to the Plough and Harrow in Hagley Road,

Smithfield (from Showells Dictionary)
" ... a small corner of Smithfield was railed off for the like purpose when the Cattle market was there established. The "Jacob Wilsons" of a previous date held a field under the Lords of the Manor wherein to graze their captured cattle, but one of the Town Criers mortgaged it, and his successors lost their right to the land which was somewhere about Caroline Street"

The Bord - alongside the Ship Inn
The parish pound was once located next to The Ship Inn, Camp Hill. It was known as The Bord.

Great Stone Inn Northfield
There was a 17th century pound adjacent to the inn; a sandstone enclosure where stray animals were kept until their owners paid a fee to get them back. This structure still exists today alongside the Inn.

See this thread here for more details:
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/the-great-stone-northfield.40287

Screenshot_20260818_202731_Chrome.jpg

South Yardley
Pinfold Green was common land laying between Stockfield Road and Yardley Road at South Yardley. It would have been the site of the local pinfold.
 
Last edited:
Medieval farming relied heavily on open fields and so livestock could wander onto neighbouring land or unlawfully graze on shared common land. A communal system was needed to control them. The official responsible for locking up the strays, managing their care, and collecting the fines was called the Pinder or Pounder and was paid by the Lord of the Manor. If animals went unclaimed for several weeks, they were taken to a local market, sold, and the profits were split between the captor and the poundkeeper.

Most medieval villages would have had pounds but most will have been lost through urbanisation and development. The Northfield pound is one of the best survivors. There used to be one in Harborne, now lost by development and I think there was one near the church in Kings Norton also now lost or in ruins.
( https://ruralhistoria.com/2023/12/28/the-medieval-pound-most-villages-had-one/ and http://poundsandpinfolds.co.uk.websitebuilder.prositehosting.co.uk/what-are-pounds-and-pinfolds )
 
Last edited:
Viv (in post #1) mentions The Bord next to the Ship Inn, Camp Hill, as a site of a pinfold:
1787690505335.png
"At the time this photograph was taken (c 1860), the "Ship Inn", so called since the early 1800s and previously known as the "Anchor", was very old. The original half-timbered farm building, with stables, barn and dairy was said to originate from 1560 and was a stop for coaches and wagons on the route to Birmingham. The "Bord" - the parish pound, used to hold stray animals until they were claimed by their owners, was situated alongside the building. The building used to sit at the junction of Sandy Lane and Camp Hill but the old inn was pulled down in 1867 and a new building using the original foundations and cellars took its place......"
( See: https://www.search.birminghamimages...ID=10655&PageIndex=7&SearchType=2&ThemeID=172 )

Sadly I suspect it's going to be rural sites that can claim most intact pounds/pinfolds whilst us city dwellers will have to make do with remains lost to development. Thank goodness for Northfield!
 
Last edited:
Neil M said:
View attachment 228513
Handsworth Pound 1908 - St Mary's Church in the background,

This seems a relatively upmarket pound in comparison to the one in Northfield because it provides a sheltering roof as well as just enclosure...
Click to expand...
i wonder if this one was round about here..high wall and both showing the tips of headstones


www.google.com

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com
 
mikejee said:
Regarding the Handsworth pound., that would be the area in red on the early 1900s map. Did think of that but wasn't sure about what appear to be steps behind

View attachment 228541
Click to expand...
mike i take it that is church hill road on the right if so do you know the name of school thats marked...i had not realised that there used to be one there...thanks

lyn
 
Defeated again. By Stirk this time. Have had to look it up:
  • A regional or dialect term for a yearling calf or young cow that has been weaned.
  • Usually between 6 months and 2 years old
  • Adding "red" describes the natural hair colour of that specific animal (common in breeds like Red Poll or Red Devon cattle).
 
A few more pounds…

1866 Castle Bromwich, Pinner Chas Weaver, Castle Bromwich Gate.
1877 Northfields, Pinner Thos Chance.
1865 Harbourne.
1865 Erdington, Pinner William Bicknell.

1857 Perry Barr Pound, a black and white calf.
 
Pedrocut said:
A few more pounds…

1866 Castle Bromwich, Pinner Chas Weaver, Castle Bromwich Gate.
1877 Northfields, Pinner Thos Chance.
1865 Harbourne.
1865 Erdington, Pinner William Bicknell.

1857 Perry Barr Pound, a black and white calf.
Click to expand...
i wonder where the perry barr pound was

lyn
 
Evening Despatch, Feb 1936…

“BUT animals, as well as men, come together-often compulsory. Once upon a time, at the corner of Peck-lane, there was a pound for stray animals. Sometimes it was called the pen, sometimes the fold. Now it has disappeared-but a street-name, Pinfold-street, remains to tell the story.”
 
Lyn. Have copied posts #1-#4 about the Perry Barr pound. It was by the old Boars Head (not the BH site of today). The original Boars Head was in a slightly different position.
 
Photos of the Perry Barr pound by the old Boars Head. The pound looks effectively like a large field. Makes sense, especially if horses were temporarily kept there. But you have to wonder what would stop owners from removing their animals without paying the charge.

Screenshot_20260826_192303_Samsung Browser.jpgScreenshot_20260826_192248_Samsung Browser.jpg
 
Last edited:
Until c1900 there was a stray animal pound near the corner of Common Lane, Washwood Heath. We can still see evidence of this in the street name 'Pound Green'.

Screenshot_20260826_212656_Maps.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top