Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The Pound, Tottenham c1905
The Pound stood on the middle of the road in Tottenham Hale.
This Google Street View image shows the same view today as the image above. Hardly changed at all!
I'm not exactly sure what 'the pound' was used for, but traditional usage of the word suggests it was a lock-up, perhaps for stray animals? Most villages used to have an animal pound and they could be as small as the building shown.
Does anyone more knowledgeable about Tottenham's history know more?
Here's what had become of the pound by the Fifies:
I was able to locate this building thanks to the following passage in Tottenham Shops - a Personal Memory, H. G. Hawke (Edmonton Hundred Historical Society, 1983).
Chestnut Road with "The Eagle" public house behind the magnificant block of Tottenham's new Metropolitan Police station, led down to the Pound and Ferry Lane, which had to be negotiated on foot to reach the "Ferry Boat Inn"
Albums: Historical Images of Tottenham
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Comment by Geraldine on January 5, 2018 at 9:30
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I thought pounds were for people - drunks in particular.
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Comment by Hugh on January 5, 2018 at 9:34
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If you have knowledge of that being the case, Geraldine, then so be it. I wasn’t at all sure so searched around and most sources seemed to suggest that they were for animals. Size-wise though, it does look more suited to humans. I’d be grateful for links to any sources that can give a definitive answer.
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Comment by StephenBln on January 5, 2018 at 16:43
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When the railway opened in 1840, East Anglian cattle and sheep were driven from Tottenham (now Tottenham Hale) station to Smithfield Market. There were cattle pens alongside the railway at Totttenham Hale.
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Here's another image which appears to show a police building in front of the pound.
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Comment by John Shulver on July 4, 2020 at 13:30
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That's a fire cart and ladder shown there. Since moving out to the "country" I have learned that pounds were short term keeps for livestock. And the numerous open "windows" would suggest being more desirable to livestock ?
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But on closer look at original photo the "windows" are well barred AND there is a copper standing outside so maybe it was an overnight compound for drunkards etc ?
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