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| The pigeon cote, dovecote, columbarium,
culvery, and doocot are all in simple terms a home for pigeons. The terms
columbarium, culvery, and doocot are of Roman, Cornish, and Scottish heritage
respectively, while the term dovecote is of English extraction. These structures,
some quite elegant, were all over Europe. While far, far fewer in number
today, England boasted over 26,000 dovecotes, during the 17th
Century, on the grounds of monasteries and manor houses. They were found
on the grounds of monasteries and manor houses because they were an incredibly
profitable and worthwhile food source. The rest of us, "naturally," were
prohibited by law from interfering with the activities of our "betters’"
pigeons or to erect pigeon houses for ourselves. |
| This condition remained rather static from about
the 13th through 18th centuries, when a couple of rather
dramatic events took place. The first being the French revolution when such
class privileges, or abuses, depending on your view, were eradicated forever,
and set the tone for the rest of Europe to follow. But the second and perhaps
more important was the introduction of root crops into the agricultural practices
of the day. Until then pigeons were the only reliable fresh meat source during
the winter and early spring months, and thousands upon thousands were reared
for and by the aristocracy in these grand dovecotes scattered about the land.
Until the introduction of the root crops there simply was not enough feed
to carry livestock through the winter months and nearly all had to be slaughtered
and salted for preservation. Now it is said that squab, pigeon, can hold
its own in the taste department at any time, but compared to old salty, dried
meat – there is no comparison., |
| Most of these dovecotes were designed to hold
between 200 and 500 pairs, and sometimes there were more than one dovecote
on the premises. The residents would do what pigeons really do best, fly,
feed and breed. These birds, you see, were foragers. Each day they would
leave their cotes, scouring the countryside for seeds, weed as well as crop.
And, as mentioned earlier, interference was prohibited. So about every six
weeks, for nearly the entire year, each pair would offer their young to the
cause of gastronomical delight. But pigeons were useful even beyond that
of the table. The manure is of very high quality and would fetch a nice price
and was also used as a tanning agent for certain leathers. Small wonder then,
that these structures were well built and many, to our delight, still stand
today. |
| As alluded to, the Roman columbarium is the
antecedent of the English dovecote. Roman columbariums were usually round
with a vaulted roof and of stone, though tiled roofs are known to have been
used. The entrance door was small, and a "window" of some type allowed entry
for the birds, while simultaneously ensuring the birds against the invasion
of snakes and other vermin. The interior surface of the walls was covered
with a smoothly worked cement made from ground marble. The nest holes were
fitted into the interior walls from floor to roof. This basic design traveled
from Rome to France and on to England, with the earliest examples being nearly
replicas of the old Roman designs. |
| The best chronicler of dovecotes in Great Britain
was Arthur O. Cooke. To him we are indebted for A Book of Dovecotes,
published in 1920. Therein, he describes nearly 250 dovecotes extant at that
time. Unfortunately, he reports that thousands had been lost and many of
the remaining examples were in very poor condition. Even in 1920, nearly
none were in use for their intended design. But things look better for dovecotes
in Great Britain today. The dovecotes are now protected by law and must be
maintained. Many owners and organizations of late understand their historical
value and have actually spent large sums in their restoration. |
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One of particular beauty in style and location
can be found at Cothele. Cothele is owned by the
National Trust, an English non-profit
organization dedicated to the preservation of British heritage. This
beautiful structure sits in the garden of the main Cothele mansion and is
again home to many pairs of field foraging white pigeons. This particular
cote, while not one of the largest to be found, is by no means small. The
walls are made of stone nearly three feet thick. There are thirteen rows
of nest holes from the floor to the top of the wall, and 30 holes in each
row, making for just under 400 nest holes. The nest holes, rather than being
set in a direct line, are offset, giving the visual effect of a checkerboard. |
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| The nest holes are about six inches square at
the opening and enlarge toward the rear in a sort of "L" or pie shape, where
the top of the "L" is the opening. Each nest is about 18 inches deep and
12 across at the back The direction of the "L" alternates between each row
to provide greater structural integrity to the walls. The roof is dome shaped
and constructed of stone slates, topped with a cupola which provides the
pigeons light, air, but most importantly ingress and egress |
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While visitors are generally not permitted inside
the dovecote, one can peek through the small door and see the arrangement
inside. The interior of this particular specimen is also in excellent condition.
In fact the "potence" has been restored and is in perfect working order.
A potence is a device used to collect the squabs. It consists of a large
revolving beam in the center of the cote, from floor to roof. Attached to
this beam are two arms that extend outwards almost touching the wall, which
makes the upper part appear a bit like a gallows. There is an arm near the
top and one near the bottom. At the end of these arms, near the wall, a ladder
is attached. This permits a person on the ladder to climb up and down and
reach all the nests located on the interior wall, and pull themselves around
reaching all of the nests. An ingenious contraption particularly well suited
to the round construction. |
| One cannot help but wonder if the potence was
thought of first and the cote built in a circular shape to capitalize on
the idea, or if the round cote was built first and then the potence sprang
to mind.It was in all probability the latter, but the idea of the former
still appeals. The drawing of the potence here is very similar, except that
is has two platforms in addition to the two arms. While the potence at Cothele
does have a platform, it is attached to and part of the lower arm. Perhaps
the platforms were used to hold a basket or other tools by the caretakers
and without doubt as additional perching space by the birds. |
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Not far from Cothele is another
National Trust property, Anthony
House. Here you can find two dovecotes. One, a very large round brick structure
near the house, stands on the rear lawn. The roof is of slate and the cupola
is of wood. Inside you will find the potence to be very similar to the drawing,
with two "perching" platforms attached to the potence. The dovecote is very
spacious and properly occupied. The walls are three feet thick and the interior
diameter is approximately twenty feet. Height to the eaves is also about
twenty feet. The nest box arrangement consists of fifteen rows of fifty nest
holes in a column arrangement for a total of 750 nest boxes. While the residents
of this dovecote still fly in and out freely, the other dovecote, unfortunately,
lies in ruins. Only the thick circular stone walls of the ruin remain, telling
the story that this too must have been an impressive structure in its time. |
| The wall that remains, complete with nesting
holes in the "checkerboard" pattern, is nearly four feet thick and twelve
feet high. No trace of the roof remains. It must have collapsed long ago,
and the stones carted off for other uses. |
| Even though these circular designs with their
potences are marvels beauty and function, not all dovecotes were constructed
in this ingenious fashion. Many other shapes are to be found. |
The most common shape, next to the circular,
is nearly square. In a few of these a potence was also installed, but what
worked flawlessly in a round structure must have missed the mark.
Hawford dovecote, also owned and maintained for us all by the
National Trust, lies about
three miles north of Worcester. It is a square structure, in the vernacular
of the area called a black and white, and is made of wood and stone. It has
four gables in the roof, each one with a small window for additional light.
The pigeons used the cupola on top for ingress and egress. Another very unique
feature of this dovecote, are the nest boxes. Rather than being built directly
into the stone wall, they are made of wood and attached to the walls and
even extend into the gable ends. The nest boxes are only about a foot deep
off the wall, but gain size by running at a 45 degree angle to the wall,
making each nest box about 18 inches deep. On each course the angles run
in opposite directions. |
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If you would like to learn more about these
beautiful dovecotes of Great Britain, get a copy of Arthur Cooke’s book,
A Book of Dovecotes, and/or continue to visit the Pigeon Cote
web site where we provide more and continuing in depth coverage into the
future. The Pigeon Cote will be "following" Mr. Cooke as he travels trough
England, providing insight as to the current state of affairs of the
dovecotes he encountered, complete with pictures, and more. We have
added a chapter not included in Cooke's work titled elsewhere in England
to cover locations he just did not get to and would not fit neatly into the
near London chapter.
| If you would like to own your own hard copy of
Cooke's A Book of Dovecotes visit the Pigeoncote bookstore. |
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More about Dovecotes
|
 Book Of Dovecotes
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A. O. Cooke: Annotated by:
Helen Bresler |
| Help save a wonderful Dovecote
in France. |
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The Roman
columbarium |
| Take
a side trip to France |
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The French Colombier |
| Take
a second side trip to France |
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The English Dovecote |
| Take
a third. France is rich in Dovecotes |
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Herefordshire |
| Take a side trip to
Greece. |
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Shropshire |
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Worcester and Warwick: |
| More recent titles to Consider: |
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Northhampton, Buckingham, &
Huntingdon |
| Pigeon-Houses of the Midi Pyrenees Region |
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Pigeons of the Church |
| A Dovecote Heritage: Peter and Jean Hansell |
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Lancashire, Westmorland, &
Cumberland |
| Dovecotes: Peter & Jean Hansell Shire # 213 |
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Yorkshire |
| Doves and Dovecotes: Peter & Jean Hansell |
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Essex and Suffolk |
| Scottish Dovecotes: G.A.G. Peterkin |
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Dovecotes Near London |
| The Doocots of Moray: Elizabeth Beaton |
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Sussex, Hampshire, and Wiltshire |
| The Doocots of Caithness: Elizabeth Beaton |
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Gloucester and Oxford |
| Scottish Garden Buildings: Tim Buxbaum |
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Monmouthshire and Wales |
| Scottish Doocots:Tim Buxbaum, Shire #190 |
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Devon and Cornwall |
| Dovecots of Cabridgeshire: Peter Jeevar |
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Somerset and Dorset |
| Dovecotes: Peter and Jean Hansell, Shire #213 |
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The Scottish Doocot |
| The Dovecotes of Suffolk: John McCann |
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In and Around Edinburgh |
| The Dovecotes of Historical Somerset: John and Pamela McCann,
2003 |
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Haddingtonshire (East Lothian) |
| Dovecotes and Pigeons in English Law: Ancient Monuments Society
V44, 2000: John McCann |
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Elswhere in Scottland |
| An Historical Enquiry into the Design and Use of Dovecotes, Ancient
Monuments Society, V35, 1991 John McCann |
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Elswhere in
England |
| Dovecotes In and Around Edinburgh: Niven Robertson |
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| Pigeons as a Source of Food in Eighteenth-Century Scotland, Review
of Scottish Culture volume 4, 1998, Edinburgh, pages 89-103, Una Robertson |
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| Yorkshire Dovecotes and Pigeon Lots: Yorkshire Archaeological
Journal V65, 1993: Alan Whitworth |
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| Doocots of Stirlingshire, published by Stirling Council Libraries,
2003. Bill Alison Logie. Available at £3.50 from Stirling Council
Libraries, Borrowmeadow Road, Stirling FK7 7TN |
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| The Dovecotes of Rutland, Transactions of the Ancient Monuments
Society, Volume 50, 2006, John McCann |
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| Other older Titles: |
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| Dovecotes of Nottinghamshire: John Severn. |
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| Pigeon Cotes and Dove Houses of Essex: Donald Smith: |
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| The Dovecotes of Notts: J. Whitaker |
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| Titles in French |
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| Pigeonniers de France: Dominique Letellier |
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| Pigeonniers de Provence: Jeanne Laffitte |
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| Coloumbiers & Pigeonneirs en France: Pierre Leron-Lesur |
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| Titles in Dutch (Netherlands) |
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| DuivenTillen in Drenthe: H. M. Luning |
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| Titles in German |
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| Tuaben Häuser Tauben Schläge: Alois Kammermeier |
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| Taubenturme in Tinos: Maren Heyne |
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| South African |
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| Cape Dovecots and Fowl-Runds: James Walton |
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