Details

The monument includes the standing structural and buried remains of an animal
pound of probable 18th century date, which is a Listed Building Grade II. It
is situated on a slight rise at the intersection of roads at the centre of the
hamlet of Wollerton.

The animal pound is a brick-built `horseshoe'-shaped enclosure, circular with
a straight-sided portion to the north west, with contemporary, regularly
placed internal and external brick-built piers. The brickwork bonding type is
English Garden Wall and this is surmounted by dressed sandstone coping stones.
Its overall dimensions are approximately 4m south west to north east by 5m
north west to south east, and it stands to a maximum height of 1.87m. The
entrance into the pound is at the north west and is 1.72m wide. Parts of the
wall, especially to the south, were repaired in the late 20th century.

The concrete gate posts, the wooden gate and the road surface are excluded
from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is
included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 1 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The term animal pound is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word `pund' meaning
enclosure, and is used to describe stock-proof areas for confining stray or
illegally pastured stock and legally-kept animals rounded up at certain times
of the year from areas of common grazing. The earliest documentary references
to pounds date from the 12th century, and they continued to be constructed and
used throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods. Most surviving
examples are likely to be less than three centuries old, and most will have
fallen into disuse in the late 19th or early 20th century. Animal pounds are
usually located in villages or towns though some lie in more open locations,
particularly on the edge of old woodlands and commons. Construction methods
vary according to the availability of building materials: stone, brick,
fencing, iron railings and earthworks being used to enclose areas ranging from
4m by 6m to over 0.5ha. The walls are normally about 1.5m high, although
greater heights are not uncommon as attempts to prevent poundbreach. In
addition to stock control, animals were sometimes taken as a `distress'
(seizure of property in lieu of debt or to enforce payment) and kept under the
care of the pinder or hayward until redeemed. Pounds are usually unroofed and
have a single entrance, although some have additional low entrances to allow
the passage of sheep and pigs while retaining larger stock. Other features
include rudimentary shelters for the pound-keeper, laid floors, drainage
channels, troughs and internal partitions to separate the beasts.
Animal pounds are widely distributed throughout England, with particular
concentrations in the west and Midlands. About 250 examples are known to
survive in fair condition, with perhaps another 150 examples recorded either
as remains, or from documentary evidence alone. Pounds illustrate a
specialised aspect of past social organisation and animal husbandry, and
reflect the use and former appearance of the surrounding landscape. All
examples surviving in good condition, particularly those supported by
historical evidence for ownership and function, are considered worthy of
protection.

The animal pound 140m north west of Riverside, Wollerton is a good example
of this class of monument. It indicates the importance of moving and
empounding livestock to the local rural economy during the 18th and 19th
centuries. The extant structural remains, together with the buried remains of
the internal floor surface and associated features, such as post holes and
drainage channels, will provide information about the construction of
post-medieval animal pounds and about contemporary herding practices. As a
prominent feature at a road junction, this pound continues to act as an
important local landmark.

Source: Historic England