Cattle, Councils, and Pinders

An article in the Cambridge newspapers yesterday lamented that there soon may be no cattle on the commons and greens in Cambridge because the local council says it cannot afford to pay for the pinder.

It’s the pinder’s job to rescue cattle who fall into the River Cam or get themselves stuck in hedges.

The farmers who graze cattle on the commons and greens say they can’t afford to pay for the pinder.

The cattle keep the grass under control, so the farmers could argue they offer a service that more than offsets the cost the Council would have to bear in cutting the grass.

OK, that’s the news, and the job of the pinder is obvious, but what’s the origin of the word ‘pinder’?

The pinder is so called because historically it was his job to impound stray animals in a secure pen or enclosure called a pinfold or pound-fold, or pound.

In earlier times he would release the animal back to the owner on payment of a fine for damage caused.

The pinder dates back to medieval times when the pinder was an officer of the lord of the manor.

With the end of feudalism in the 1600s, the pinder was appointed by the local community.

And the job died out in the 1900s with the introduction of barbed wire. But not on commons of course, which are by definition unfenced.

For the death of feudalism – read this.