Beccles animal pound or pinfold

Image: © Adrian S Pye Taken: 11 Sep 2023

The pound was where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. If unclaimed within three weeks, the animals were driven to the nearest market and sold, the proceeds going to the impounder and pound-keeper. "The person who found the animals on his land cut a stick and made notches, one for every beast, and then split the stick down the centre of the notches so that half each notch appeared on each stick; one half he kept, the other he gave to the pound-keeper. When the owner came to redeem his property and had paid for the damage done, the impounder gave him his half stick. He took this to the pound-keeper, and if the two pieces tallied, it proved he had paid and his beast was freed. Hence the word tally-stick and the pound-keeper being referred to as the tallyman." (Gratefully borrowed from Wikipedia.)

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