More information : The remains of a former dovecote survive as an earthwork located approximately 100m north-east of the farmhouse at Castle Heaton, centred at NT 90240 41974, close to the former site of the Heaton Castle (UID 4095), a 14th-century quadrangular castle which is thought to have stood on the ground now adopted by the farm complex. The dovecote’s earthen foundation is situated in young woodland on fairly level ground at 25-30m above Ordnance Datum, immediately beside the upper north-west edge of a narrow, steep-sided, valley overlooking a minor tributary of the River Till. The feature is circular in plan – it measures 8m in overall diameter and takes the form of a shallow dished depression surrounded by a low penannular bank. The bank varies between about 1.5m and 1.9m in width and the central hollow sits 1.2m below the top of the bank at its deepest point. A narrow break (1m wide) in the bank at its north-west side may represent the position of the former ground level doorway. Facing the exterior side of the entrance break is a low concave scarp which may relate to the restricting of ground level access for reasons of security and to protect against predators.
The circular hollow of the earthwork is just visible on air photographs taken in 1994 and 1996 during a brief period when the valley was clear of trees (1a, 1b). No evidence of the superstructure survives but a small amount of stone rubble is visible within the top of the earth of the bank. It is unusual, but not unknown, for dovecotes to be identified as circular earthworks, rather than from standing buildings. A circular feature in this position is labelled as ‘Old Dove Cot’ on the first edition 6-inch Ordnance Survey map of 1866 (1c), making it mid-19th-century or earlier in origin. It is uncertain whether it relates to Heaton Castle or to the later farm at Castle Heaton. The feature was located during English Heritage's analytical earthwork survey across land to the east and north of the former site of Heaton Castle. (1)
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