Restoration work has started on a village heritage site that has been hidden from view for a hundred years or more.
On Monday (12 Oct 2015) excavations began at the Whiston Village Pinfold at the junction of the main A52 and Black Lane. A pinfold is a stone walled enclosure where in years gone by stray animals were kept until collected by the owner. The one at Whiston is recorded on old maps but was filled in before living memory and for many years has been buried under a grassy mound with nothing to identify it.
Kingsley Parish Council is working with a number of organisations to protect the site and restore the pinfold structure. Work has started by excavating the infill material and already a number of interesting finds have been discovered, including an early Marston’s Beer bottle, a Victorian poison bottle and a complete earthenware Hartley’s Jam container.
Councillor Howard Mycock, leading the project on behalf of the Parish Council, said, “I’m very pleased that the Parish Council has been able to get this project off the ground with practical and financial support from a number of organisations. We’re digging the pinfold out to find the original foundations and then we’ll rebuild the drystone walls, put in a gate and an interpretation plaque so that people can see how it used to be. It’s good to see everyone working together on a local project like this.”
Funding for the project includes a Moorlands Partnership Board Environmental Enhancement Grant and a grant from the Heritage Lottery funded Churnet Valley Community Grant Scheme. In addition, the traffic lights and highway safety arrangements have been provided by County Councillor Mike Worthington, through SCC Highways. Councillor Worthington has also made an additional contribution from his SCC Members Local Community Fund. The excavation work is being done by a private contractor and the wall building undertaken by the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership professional drystone walling team, with support from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Practical Projects Volunteer Group. Whiston Hall Golf Club has donated a supply of additional stone.
Kingsley Parish Council Chair Ken Unwin said, “We are particularly indebted to Ivan Kent, a nearby Whiston resident, who has worked tirelessly to take this project forward and obtain the necessary funding. The Pinfold restoration is unlikely to have happened without his enthusiasm and hard work.”
County Councillor Mike Worthington commented, “I am pleased to support the pinfold restoration project as it’s important that we look after our heritage assets. I appreciate the hard work that has gone into realising the project and impressed by the willing input from such a variety of organisations.”
Pictured at initial excavation works from left to right are Parish Council Chair Ken Unwin, District Councillor Elsie Fallows, Ivan Kent, Project Secretary, County Councillor Mike Worthington and Sally Bentley, the co-ordinator of the Churnet Valley Community Grant Scheme.