Monument Type(s):

• DOVECOTE (17th century - 1656 AD to 1656 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument and Grade II* Listed Building: The 17th century Hodnet dovecote, associated with the former Hodnet Hall (demolished in 1870), is one of very few decorated square brick-built dovecotes in the country and still retains its nest boxes.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA1503 - Undated field observation by English Heritage
• ESA1504 - 1962 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA1505 - 1975 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA1506 - 1987 field observation by English Heritage

Description

Situated at SJ 6092 2818 is a well preserved ornate dovecote. It is brick built with stone quoins and is dated 1656. It is now
used as a stable. See GP AQ/61/115/5, Dovecote from North-west. <1a>

Dovecote. Dated 1656. Red brick (English bond) with some vitrified headers and grey sandstone ashlar dressings. Plain tile roof. Brick plinth, flush stone quoins, moulded stone string course with band of recessed lozenge-shaped panels above (with evidence of former render at time of survey-April 1986) and parapeted gable ends with stone copings and moulded stone kneelers. Central square wooden glover with segmental arched openings and pyramidal roof with finial. One storey and loft. 2-light double-chamfered mullioned stone loft window in each gable end with pair of recessed diaper panels above each (with evidence of former render in each panel at time of survey). Boarded door to north with strap hinges, chamfered stone surround with stops, and large cambered lintel. 3 recessed arched panels above door with impost blocks and keystones, that in centre is larger and has smaller recessed panel within with billet-ornamented terracotta surround and the inscription: TM 1656 IM. Left-hand panel ha s remains of carved stone or terracotta head (evidence of former render i n each panel at time of survey). Probably inserted mid-CI9 segmental-headed doorway to south. Interior: 2 ground-floor chambers. Southern chamber with brick nesting boxes in walls. Northern chamber and loft not inspected. Garden cottage is not included on this list <3>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, as one of less than 10 Dovecotes <8>

Scheduling affirmed in 2001. Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the remains of a dovecote 300m south of Hodnet Hall which was built in 1870. The dovecote is situated about 250m south west of the site of the former Hodnet Hall, a large timber-framed mansion, which was demolished when the new hall was built, and 130m west of a timber-framed barn, dated 1619. Both of these structures lie within Hodnet Park, a 20th century designed landscape incorporating earlier landscape features, including a medieval deer park. Hodnet Park is a Registered Park and Garden Grade II. ->

-> The dovecote was constructed on level ground on top of a low ridge in an area that had been previously cultivated. The broad cultivation strips (ridge and furrow) that surround the dovecote are not included in the scheduling. The dovecote, which is a Listed Building Grade II*, is a square two gable- ended structure measuring 6.55m externally and 5.2m internally. It is built of brick with dressed white sandstone quoins, kneelers (horizontal decorative projections at the base of the gables) and coping stones, and a plain tile roof with a central square wooden glover or louvre. On the ground floor in the centre of the northern gable there is a low doorway, defined by white sandstone dressed chamfered blocks and a lintel. The wooden door consists of three boards held together with strap hinges. The doorway has been blocked internally with brick. Above the doorway, on the exterior face of the wall, is a recessed arched panel containing an ornamental terracotta surround bearing the inscription 'TM 1656 IM'. There is a smaller recessed arched panel on either side of the larger panel, one of which contains a moulded figure of an animal. Above these panels, and continuing around the building, is a moulded stone string course and a row of lozenge-shaped recessed panels. Many of these panels, like those in the northern gable, contain remnants of the former render. Within both gables there is a two-light double-chamfered mullion loft window, each constructed of white sandstone, and four recessed triangular- shaped recessed panels above. A later (mid-19th century) brick-built segmental-headed doorway in the centre of the southern gable at ground floor level now provides access into the building. Within the building, lining the walls, are the former brick-built nest boxes, many of which have been bricked up. A timber floor supported on two wooden beams has also been inserted at a later date. There is now no direct access to the loft, the former hatch having been boarded up. The building is now used as a byre. The feed mangers attached to the walls are excluded from the scheduling <9>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2009. <10>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.