Dovecot At Sw Corner Of Kitchen Garden, Melsetter House, Hoy

Possibly 1738. W R Lethaby, circa 1898 and 1900 additions. Repair work, 2000. Rectangular-plan walled garden incorporating circa 1898 tea-house and 1900 chapel, both by W R Lethaby, and earlier doocot. Tall, exposed random rubble walls; flat wallhead. N corner harled on exterior of wall and surmounted by ball finial. Opening in E wall; plain doorway to SE and W; timber boarded doors.

TEA-HOUSE

2-storey, square-plan tea-house in SE angle of kitchen garden. Apple-house to ground floor; tea-house at upper floor. Exposed sandstone rubble; dressed sandstone surrounds to openings.

E ELEVATION: forestair to exterior of kitchen garden wall; plain timber hand rail. 1st floor door to left; leaded window to right.

S ELEVATION: 1st floor tripartite window. Square-plan stack to left rises from garden wall and breaks eaves.

W ELEVATION: ground floor door to left; 1st floor tripartite window to right.

N ELEVATION: ground floor leaded window; 1st floor tripartite window above.

Stone mullions to tripartite windows; leaded windows to outer lights in N facing tripartite window. Timber boarded door. Conical slated roof. Pole with weathervane in inner angle of garden wall.

INTERIOR: floorboards to tea-house; timber panelled walls. Window cills to each window; decorative timber panel above 1 window. Timber benches; central timber table and chairs. Fireplace in SW angle; sandstone surround and mantel; green glazed tiles to fire jambs.

DOOCOT

2-storey, square-plan doocot in SW angle of kitchen garden. Rubble stone; harling. Shed to ground floor; doocot above.

E ELEVATION: ground floor door to right.

S ELEVATION: not seen, 2000.

W ELEVATION: plain elevation.

N ELEVATION: central ground floor window; 1st floor door.

Windows and doors now gone, 2000. Conical roof; stone slates.

INTERIOR: stone nesting boxes.

ROOKERY WALLS, DRIVEWAY WALLS AND GATEPIERS

Low rubble wall encloses rookery to S of kitchen garden. Approach to Melsetter House from the SE; driveway bordered by dry stone wall; pair of circular sandstone gatepiers; conical coping stone; ball finial. Identical pair of gatepiers to W to roadway. Dry stone walls border roadway leading to steading; curved W wall echoes quadrant gatepiers to Laundry House (see separate List Description).