Dovecot, Inshes House

This is a small, three-storey tower house, dating to around 1600. It is likely a surviving angle tower of a former castle and is situated within the grounds of Inshes House. The tower is built of harled rubble with ashlar dressings. It possesses a stone slab roof and end corniced stacks, although one is in poor condition. A wallhead stack is also present. The entrance is positioned off-set in the northwest gable. The tower has a window in each of the upper storeys, with a blocked centre window on the northwest elevation, and a gable attic window on each elevation; all windows have chamfered jambs. Small, splayed loopholes are present in the base of the tower, alongside scattered angle and mural shot holes.

A late 19th-century mural bellcote, without a bell, is mounted on the north gable.

The interior contains a later 16th or early 17th century dormer pediment set into the wall, bearing initials and an armorial. Ground floor measurements are approximately 13 feet by 13 feet.

The armorial pediment shows initials “T W” and “A T”. It is believed the tower was used as a dovecote, although no nesting boxes remain. References can be found in Nigel Tranter’s THE QUEEN’S SCOTLAND, THE NORTH-EAST (1974) and the National Monuments Record of Scotland.