Dovecot, Ayton Castle

The Dovecot at Ayton Castle is a 16th-century structure, with a panel dated 1745 that may have been added later. It is a two-stage, circular-plan, beehive dovecot located to the east of Ayton Castle. The building is constructed of harl-pointed sandstone rubble with weathered sandstone dressings. An alighting ledge is situated approximately 10 feet above the ground, although it is missing or broken in parts. The wall above this ledge is slightly recessed, and the projecting eaves or ledge are also partially missing or broken.

There is a square-headed doorway on the south side, but the door is missing. Above the lintel, there is a rubble relieving arch, and centered above this is an architraved sandstone panel inscribed with 'T.F E.W 1745(?).' The roof is shallow-domed and made of stone slabs, featuring a circular aperture at the center that is covered by a later octagonal-plan, boarded timber capping, which is also broken in parts. The dovecot has regularly spaced flight holes, but the finial is missing.

Inside, the walls are lined with 653 nesting boxes arranged in 17 rows, with the lowest row positioned 3 feet above the ground. There is a circular opening in the roof that accesses a timber cupola and the flight holes. A timber potence with a ladder is present on a fixed triangular frame.