Dovecote 15 Metres North West Of Athelhampton Hall

The building is a free-standing circular dovecote located 15 metres northwest of Athelhampton Hall, dating from the early 16th century. The structure is made of roughly coursed rubble stone, with some brick repairs, and features a coved stone eaves-cornice. Symmetrically arranged around the circumference are four ashlar buttresses, each with two stages. The dovecote has a clay tiled conical roof topped with an octagonal cedar-wood lantern, which was replaced in the 20th century. Access to the dovecote is from the east through a low ashlar doorway that has a chamfered four-centred head. Inside, the wall face contains fewer than 600 pigeon-holes that were once reachable by a wooden ladder on a cantilevered frame, which pivots on a central post.