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A 'dovecote' or 'dovecot' is a building intended to house pigeons or doves, which were an important food source in history. In Scotland the usual term is 'doocot', and the tradition is continued in modern urban areas. Dovecotes may be square or circular, or even built into the end of a house or barn and generally contain pigeonholes where the birds nest.^[1] The birds were kept both for their eggs and flesh. Dovecotes are also used to house pigeons used for pigeon racing, particularly in Belgium.

In some cultures, particularly Medieval Europe, the possession of a dovecote was a symbol of status and power and was consequently regulated by law. Only nobles had this special privilege. Many ancient manors in France and the United Kingdom have a dovecote (still standing or in ruins) in one section of the enclosure or in nearby fields. Examples include Château de Kerjean in Brittany, France, Bodysgallen Hall in Wales, and Muchalls Castle and Newark Castle in Scotland.

Contents

Dovecotes of France

Dovecotes of the United Kingdom

Dovecotes of Belgium

Dovecotes of Transylvania

Gallery

See also

Notes

Further reading

Dovecotes of France

The French word for dovecote is ''pigeonnier'' or . In some French provinces, especially Normandy, France, the dovecotes were built of wood in a very stylized way. Stone was the other popular building material for these old dovecotes.
Some of the medieval French abbeys had very large stone dovecotes on their grounds.
In Brittany, France, the dovecote was sometimes built directly into the upper walls of the farmhouse or manor house.^[2] In rare cases, it was built into the upper gallery of the lookout tower (for example at the manoir de Toul-an-Gollet in Plesidy, Brittany).^[3] These types of dovecotes are called ''tour-fuie'' in French.

Dovecotes of the United Kingdom

Early purpose-built doocots in Scotland are of a "beehive" shape, circular in plan and tapering up to a domed roof with a circular opening at the top. In the late 16th century they were superseded by the "lectern" type, rectangular with a monopitch roof sloping fairly steeply in a suitable direction.^[4] Phantassie Doocot is an unusual example of the beehive type topped with a monopitch roof, and Finavon Doocot of the lectern type is the largest doocot in Scotland, with 2,400 nesting boxes. Doocots were built well into the 18th century in increasingly decorative forms, then the need for them died out though some continued to be incorporated into farm buildings as ornamental features. However the 20th century saw a revival of doocot construction by pigeon fanciers, and dramatic towers clad in black or green painted corrugated iron can still be found on wasteland near housing estates in Glasgow and Edinburgh.^[5][6]
The Welsh name ''colomendy'' has itself become a place name.
The Romans may have introduced dovecotes ''columbaria'' to Britain -- pigeon holes have been found in Roman ruins at Caerwent. However it is believed that doves were not commonly kept there until after the Norman invasion.

Dovecotes of Belgium

Dovecotes in Belgium are mostly associated with pigeon racing. They have special features such as trap doors which allow pigeons to fly in, but not out.

Dovecotes of Transylvania

The Szekely people of Transylvania incorporate a dovecote into the design of their famous gates. These intricately carved wooden structures feature a large arch with a slatted door, which is meant to admit drivers of carriages and wagons (although today the visitors are probably driving cars and trucks), and smaller arch with a similar door for pedestrians. Across the top of the gate is a dovecote with 6-12 or more pigeonholes and a roof of wooden shingles or tiles.^[7]
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Gallery

See also

★ Cunninghamhead An example of a small doocot.

★ Museum of Scottish Country Life An example of a doocot on a cart shed.

Notes

1. Doocot Interior 1 photo - Duncan Smith photos
2. Les façades à boulins
3. Les tours-fuies: manoir de Toul-an-Gollet
4. Doocots in Scotland
5. Foo’s yer doos – aye pickin?
6. hiddenglasgow: doocots (dookits).
7. [1]

Further reading

★ Gordon Emery, ''Curious Clwyd' (includes a list of dovecotes in Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham with many photo examples) ISBN 1-872265-99-5

★ Gordon Emery, ''Curious Clwyd 2'' (1996) ISBN 1-872265-97-9