Dovecote at Hedingham Castle

Dovecote built in 1720.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in Flemish bond with red plain tile roof covering.

PLAN: octagonal.

EXTERIOR: the dovecote is an example of the tower design with buttressed corners. It has an eight-sided hipped roof with a moulded brick eaves cornice and a concave leaded apex with a square, glazed lantern surmounted by a finial. The initials RA (for Robert Ashurst) and the date 1720 are shown in vitrified brick on six out of the eight faces (one letter or number per face). The doorway has a plain timber surround and a door of three vertical planks with diamond ventilation holes. From the door, the second face to the right is lit by a small two-light C20 window.

INTERIOR: this is lined on all but three sides by nesting boxes constructed of clunch, approximately five feet from the ground to the eaves, supported on low brick walls. The base of the central timber potence – a tall revolving axle with a projecting arm against which the ladder could rest – remains. The roof structure dates to the late C20.