View of dovecot (or doocot) from NE, with water storage tanks in front. Digital image of D 3413

Description View of dovecot (or doocot) from NE, with water storage tanks in front. Digital image of D 3413

Date 10/8/1996

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 739012

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 3413

Scope and Content Warsetter Dovecot, Sanday, Orkney Islands, from north-east Warsetter is on Sanday, one of the largest of the Orkney Islands. Sanday is low-lying and almost treeless with fertile, sandy soils and a temperate climate. Warsetter is on the highest point of the island and is a fine example of a 19th-century Orcadian steading. This shows Warsetter's 17th-century stone dovecot with its stone-flagged roof and six pigeon holes. In front of the dovecot are two cement water storage tanks which supplied the house, steading and field troughs on the farm. To the left is a wire fence surrounding a modern telephone mast. In medieval times the construction of pigeon houses was encouraged, and legislation passed to protect them. Sometimes unpopular because they ate precious grain, pigeons were also useful as they provided eggs and meat at seasons of the year when such fresh food was scarce. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/739012

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap