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The old name for the field at the corner of the Old Brandon Road and Wilton Road ("The Allotments") was Pound Field. This, coupled with the fact that the remains of two pounds can still be seen (1970), rather suggests that, at one time, there must have been at least three pounds in Feltwell. The shape of the one opposite Glebe Farm is unusual for this part of the country in that it is triangular. Years ago there was a patch of grass at this point known as Pound Green.
It was usual for any farm animal which had strayed on to the road or on to a neighbour's land to be placed in the pound until such time as the owner paid a fine. From an Agreement drawn up following a meeting at the Cock Inn on 2nd May 1827 we learn that the fines were considerable - 2/6d per head for the first offence and 5/- per head for each subsequent offence.
The other remains of a pound can be seen in Bell Street at the north-west corner of Fair Close. This pound was built, not for animals but for people. The man employed to build it was shocked a few days later when he found that the first person to be impounded, for drunken behaviour, was his wife. There was no roof over this pound and drunken revellers were locked in (in all weathers) until they became sober or should I have said "cooled off "'?
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