Sheriffhall Dovecot is a Grade B listed building in the Midlothian local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 22 January 1971. Dovecot.
Sheriffhall Dovecot
- WRENN ID
- open-portal-scarlet
- Grade
- B
- Local Planning Authority
- Midlothian
- Constituency
- Midlothian MP: Kirsty McNeill (Lab)
- Country
- Scotland
- Date first listed
- 22 January 1971
- Type
- Dovecot
- OS grid reference
- NT 320 679
- Coordinates
- 55.89961, -3.08831
- Source
- Historic Environment Scotland listing
Description
Sheriffhall Dovecot is an early 17th-century, four-stage square dovecot that was created from the stair tower of a former mansion. It is constructed from red sandstone and basalt, featuring string courses and crenellated angles.
The northwest elevation, which is the principal side, has an arched doorway at the first stage, behind a string course. This doorway is a boarded timber door with metal hinges. To the right, there is an in-filled arched window spanning the second and third stages, and a blind central window at the fourth stage. The eaves string course leads to crenellated corners topped with flat stone copes.
On the northeast elevation, there are four blind stages, separated by string courses, with random in-fills. This elevation also features an eaves string course that leads to crenellated corners with flat stone copes.
The southeast elevation mirrors the northeast with four blind stages separated by string courses. It has a projecting triangular opening at the lower fourth stage, which is now in-filled with brick. The eaves string course again leads to crenellated corners with flat stone copes.
The southwest elevation also consists of four blind stages separated by string courses and includes a rectangular arrowslit opening at the third stage. It features an eaves string course leading to crenellated corners with flat stone copes.
The original windows have been filled with rubble. The dovecot is topped with a pyramidal slated roof, which has a lantern entrance and a ball finial at the top.
Inside, the dovecot is circular and contains 850 wooden nesting boxes arranged in an octagonal pattern.
Local climate
Sheriffhall Dovecot receives an average of 960 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 74% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 52% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 39 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 74% of listed buildings. Of these, 23 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.
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