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NTS Recording Event
Date April 1997 - April 1997
Event ID 996849
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/996849
B16 Doocot.
(cross-sections Ap.10.16; photograph Ap.13.63 and others)
The doocot located in the south-east corner of the walled garden, was rebuilt in this position in 1937. It was located previously in the space on the south side of the Courtyard Steading, possibly near the south-west corner on the west side where small un-named buildings are shown on the 1864 and 1901 plans. Included in Section 2 of the archive is a ‘Specification of Mason works of a Pigeon Hous at Crathes’ dated June 11th 1859 (see Appendix 6).
Anon. Lady gives a later date, “The pigeon yard with its Doocot - an invariable adjunct to a country house - was adjacent to the Castle on the South-west. The dovecot recently moved into the garden from North of the old courtyard was built about 1866”. The precise location of the ‘pigeon yard’ mentioned has not been discovered. Some have considered the pavilions on the east side of the croquet lawn to have been doocots, although Anon. Lady does not mention this and a pigeon house would have been more likely at the edge of the garden rather than centrally within the garden.
The building is rubble-built with a forestair and slated pyramidal roof. No pigeon-stalls were included in its reconstruction. A stone taken from the old House of Parliament in Westminster was included in its construction. Modern drawings provide a record of the structure (Ap.10.16).
The doocot is a focal point in the garden, lying in its lowest corner. It is prominent in many views within the garden but in particular along the path of the June Borders. It is also notable from the East Drive where it is the most significant built feature in the approach, standing close to the corner where the present route leaves the 19thC drive. Good condition.
(CRT97 B16)
Information from NTS (BNMMB) January 2015
