Dovecote 240m east of Home Farm

Reasons for Designation

Dovecotes are specialised structures designed for the breeding and keeping of doves as a source of food and as a symbol of high social status. Most surviving examples were built in the period between the 14th and the 17th centuries, although both earlier and later examples are documented. They were generally freestanding structures, square or circular in plan and normally of brick or stone, with nesting boxes built into the internal wall. They were frequently sited at manor houses or monasteries. Whilst a relatively common monument class (1500 examples are estimated to survive out of an original population of c.25,000), most will be considered to be of national interest, although the majority will be listed rather than scheduled. They are also generally regarded as an important component of local distinctiveness and character.

The standing and buried remains of the dovecote 240m east of Home Farm provide a rare and well-preserved example of both a dovecote and the method of mud construction. The interior, particularly the nesting boxes, the old ground surface beneath the dovecote and any sub surface features will all retain important archaeological, ecofactual and environmental evidence. Taken as a whole this mud dovecote will enhance our understanding of the construction and use of dovecotes in the area and their position in the wider landscape.

Details

The monument includes the standing and buried remains of a dovecote 240m east of Home Farm. It is situated in an alcove in the garden wall of Cottage Farm but also extends into the neighbouring garden belonging to Broadmarsh House. The monument is visible as two sides of a mud walled dovecote with the northern side having been replaced by a brick wall and the western side having been removed down to the present ground surface. The corner of the western and southern wall is evident and indicates the plan and extent of the original building. The eastern wall is approximately 5.75m long, 1.8m high and 0.6m thick and the southern wall approximately 3.10m long, 1.8m high and 0.6m thick. The external face of the wall has a rough surface but part of this texture is due to the presence of masonry bees which have been nesting in the wall for many years. The dovecote is known locally as the bee wall. Cut into the interior face of the mud walls are at least 81 nest boxes. These are an inverted D-shape in profile and 0.15m high, 0.15m wide at the base and 0.3m deep. Holes in the wall suggest that each nest box originally had its own perch but these do not survive and some of the holes marking their position have eroded away. Approximately halfway along the southern wall is a low doorway approximately 0.65m wide. The height of the doorway and the fact that the lowest course of nest boxes in the southern wall are partially buried indicate that the internal floor level was originally lower. It is possible that further courses of pigeon holes survive beneath the current ground level.

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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

29980

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Elevation and plan of mud dovecote, Mud dovecote Flintham, (1981)

End of official list entry

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