Dovecot And Poultry House, Eden Home Farm

This is a single-story dovecot and poultry house, built in 1852 by A & W Reid in Elgin. It is a slightly irregular six-bay building facing south, with a square dovecote tower slightly projecting from the centre, rising one stage above flanking poultry houses and topped by a piended roof and pigeon cupola. A small, single-story, three-bay privy and ash house project to the north, forming an L-shaped plan. The building is constructed of harled rubble with tooled grey granite ashlar margins and dressings. The ground floor is divided into six cubicles: two to the west of the tower, one within the tower’s base, and three smaller ones to the east. Each cubicle formerly had a doorway and was originally fronted by a small individual yard. A blind panel is located in the centre of the south front of the dovecote; the first-floor entrance is in the centre rear. Paired round-headed flight holes (three pairs on each face) are present in the base of the square, timber-framed cupola, which has a slated piended roof.

The interior of the dovecote is lined with nesting boxes. The privy and ash house wing has a gutted interior, and its entrance is screened from the main house by a rubble wall.

The building is an unusual survival. Original plans indicate that the cubicles were intended for geese, turkeys, common fowls, ducks, and two hatching places. The ashes were retained for use as fertilizer. Until approximately 1993, the poultry houses were fronted by low, coped rubble walls with iron railings, dividing them into small yards fronting each doorway. The railings and walling materials are now stacked by the building. The dovecote originally had a simple cast-iron weathervane. It is part of a group of buildings comprising Eden Home Farm.