Dovecote, 45 metres south of Gainford Hall
Dovecote 45 metres south of Gainford Hall, Low Road
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1121116
- Date first listed:
- 07-Jan-1952
- List Entry Name:
- Dovecote, 45 metres south of Gainford Hall
- Statutory Address:
- Dovecote 45 metres south of Gainford Hall, Low Road
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2006-09-18
- Reference:
- IOE01/16111/32
- Rights:
- © Lorna Freeman. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1121116
- Date first listed:
- 07-Jan-1952
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 06-Jan-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Dovecote, 45 metres south of Gainford Hall
- Statutory Address 1:
- Dovecote 45 metres south of Gainford Hall, Low Road
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Dovecote 45 metres south of Gainford Hall, Low Road
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- County Durham (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Gainford
- National Grid Reference:
- NZ1683416819
Summary
Dovecote, C17 or earlier.
Reasons for Designation
The dovecote south of Gainford Hall, of at least C17 date, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Date: as an early, specialised and high status structure for the breeding and keeping of doves, which continues the traditions of those built in the medieval period;
* Architectural interest: it is an attractive tall and tapering stone structure of three stages defined by projecting stone bands with a domed roof and central oculus;
* Degree of survival: although it no longer retains its central revolving ladder, it is otherwise intact and retains the key distinguishing features of early dovecotes including the original low entrance and a complete set of internal nest boxes and ledges;
* Group value: it benefits from a spatial and functional group value with the adjacent Gainford Hall (Grade I), to which it provided highly prized meat.
History
Dovecotes (or pigeon houses) were built from the Middle Ages to the C19 to supply tender and highly prized meat from spring to autumn (with pigeon manure a valuable by-product), and were marks of considerable status. Whether square, multi-angular, or circular, dovecotes were typically of two storeys with internal nesting holes for the birds and a central revolving ladder (or potence) to give access to them. Most frequently these are found in home farm complexes although sometimes they fulfilled a decorative function too by being carefully placed in polite landscapes.
This dovecote is thought to be of at least early-C17 date and associated with the adjacent Gainford Hall constructed in 1600-1603. The structure is depicted on the first edition 1:10560 Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1855 and is annotated 'Pigeon Cote'. The footprint is unchanged down to the present day.
Details
Dovecote, C17 or earlier.
MATERIALS: coursed sandstone rubble with roughly-dressed sandstone interior.
PLAN: circular, 5.6m in diameter.
DESCRIPTION: a tapering, slightly-convex structure, standing about 6 metres high, with three stages defined by projecting stone bands. There is a low, square-headed entrance low down in the NE side, with a chamfered lintel and alternating jambs; it retains a wide-boarded and studded plank door. The interior is filled with stone nesting boxes and alighting ledges. The roof is domed with an irregular, central oculus.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 111076
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: County Durham, (1983), 278
Websites
Pastscape Entry, accessed 18-10-2016 from http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=21692&sort=2&rational=m&recordsperpage=10&maplat=54.54700000&maplong=-1.73740000&mapisa=1000&mapist=ll&mapilo=-1.7374&mapila=54.5470&mapiloe=w&mapilan=n&mapios=NZ169169&mapigrn=516906&mapigre=416985&mapipc=&p=1&move=n&nor=25&recfc=0#aRt
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
The listed building is shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 29-Jun-2026 at 20:50:16.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.