Dovecote at Hedingham Castle

The dovecote at Hedingham Castle was built in 1720. It is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond and has a red plain tile roof. The dovecote features an octagonal plan and is designed as a tower with buttressed corners. It has an eight-sided hipped roof with a moulded brick eaves cornice and a concave leaded apex topped with a square, glazed lantern and a finial. The initials RA, representing Robert Ashurst, and the date 1720 are displayed in vitrified brick on six of the eight faces, with one letter or number on each face. The doorway has a plain timber surround and a door made of three vertical planks with diamond-shaped ventilation holes. To the right of the door, the second face is illuminated by a small two-light 20th-century window.

Inside, the dovecote is lined on all but three sides with nesting boxes made of clunch, positioned about five feet from the ground to the eaves and supported by low brick walls. The base of the central timber potence, a tall revolving axle with a projecting arm for resting a ladder, remains intact. The roof structure was updated in the late 20th century.