Court House Dovecote stands in the village of Richard's Castle, Herefordshire, England. The dovecote is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
History and description.
Historic England suggests that the dovecote dates from the 17th century, although the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England survey of Herefordshire carried out in the 1930s suggested medieval origins. It was restored in the mid-20th century. The structure is circular and is constructed of sandstone rubble. It is surmounted by a conical roof with a lantern and three dormer windows. In his study, "A Book of Dovecotes" published in 1920, Arthur Owens Cooke notes that this last feature is "unique in Herefordshire". The interior holds roughly 600 nesting boxes. The pigeons kept within the structure provided a source of meat, and their droppings were used as fertilizer. Alfred Watkins, in his study "Pigeon House of Herefordshire and Gower" published in 1891, records the presence of a revolving ladder within the building, by which the nesting boxes could be accessed and eggs extracted. The dovecote is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument, Historic England's listing record describing it as "a perfectly preserved example".
References.
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