Dovecote About 10 Metres North West Of The Manor Hotel

This is a dovecote built in the late 19th century, designed by Sabine Baring-Gould for his own use. It is constructed from dressed stone with granite details and has a scantle slate roof. The design is notable for its semi-circular front and flat rear, featuring a steeply-pitched conical roof that is gabled at the back and topped with a pinnacle. The dovecote has two stages, marked by a roll-moulded granite rat-guard string. The front roof extends over exposed rafters, and there is a gabled entrance for birds at the front, which includes a rectangular granite opening beneath a grand semi-circular pediment topped with an obelisk pinnacle. Similar pinnacles are found on either side of the pediment. The dove holes at the front have semi-circular granite flight ledges supported by granite corbels. The rear gable is adorned with characteristic slate-hanging by Baring-Gould, covering moulded bressumers, and there is a door at the back. This dovecote serves as an important visual complement to the pavilion located to the southeast of the Manor Hotel. Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould, who lived from 1834 to 1924, was both the squire and parson at Lew Trenchard from 1881 until his death, and he was responsible for rebuilding Lew House, now the Manor Hotel. He was known for his High Church beliefs, his interest in antiquities, and his extensive writing in both fiction and theology.