Ruins of Abbey Dovecote and Part of Wall is a Grade I listed building in the West Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 July 1972. A C12 Dovecote.

Ruins of Abbey Dovecote and Part of Wall

WRENN ID
half-spire-blackthorn
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
West Suffolk
Constituency
Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket MP: Dr Peter Prinsley (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
12 July 1972
Type
Dovecote
Address
Ruins of Abbey Dovecote and Part of Wall, Abbey Precincts, Bury St. Edmunds
OS grid reference
TL 857 642
Coordinates
52.24532, 0.71969
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The ruins of the Abbey dovecote, along with a section of wall, date back to the 12th century and feature later alterations. Constructed from coursed flint with stone quoins and dressings, the dovecote was originally two storeys high but is now roofless and hexagonal in shape. On the ground floor, there are remnants of a narrow arched doorway and a small rectangular window. The upper storey includes a blocked window with a rounded head and a two-light mullion-and-transom window that has cusping to the lights and a rectangular hood-mould, both of which were added later. The wall has a doorway with a stone surround and two wide later openings, and it was originally part of a wing of rooms that flanked the garden. Inside, the wall thickness is reduced above the ground storey, creating a shelf that once supported the timbers of the upper floor. The upper walls still show broken remains of nesting-boxes. This site is also designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Local climate

Ruins of Abbey Dovecote and Part of Wall sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 85% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 87% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 36 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 62% of listed buildings. Of these, 19 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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Nearby listed buildings

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  2. Precinct Wall to North of the Former Abbey of St Edmund Grade I 93 m
  3. Eastgate Cottage Grade II 111 m
  4. 17, Mustow Street Grade II 114 m
  5. Ruins to East and North of Abbey Church Grade I 114 m
  6. Lark House Grade II 118 m
  7. The Fox Inn Grade II* 127 m
  8. Drinking Trough the Broadway Grade II 136 m
  9. 26, 28 and 29, Mustow Street Grade II 136 m
  10. The Broadway Grade II 148 m