10904

 

II  

Designated  

26/11/1951  

27/08/1999  

Glynhir Dovecote  

 

Carmarthenshire  

Llandybie  

Ammanford  

Glynhir  

263907  

215140  

 

At the entrance to Glynhir mansion and farmyard.  

Domestic  

 

Probably late C18, put up as one of the improvements following the acquisition of Glynhir by Peter DuBuisson in 1770. Until recently the dovecote was surmounted by an octagonal pyramid roof with a wooden cupola, and retained the complete potence. According to a strong local tradition [Lewis], the first news of the victory at Waterloo came to Britain by pigeons returning to this dovecote; Caroline DuBuisson is said to have raced to London and to her connections, the Rothschild family, with the news, to take maximum commercial advantage of this early information.  

Octagonal stone dovecote, about 6m in height, and now lacking its original roof and cupola. The stonework consists of very thin sandstone slabs, including the cambered arch over the entrance doorway. The eight corners are not differentiated from the rest of the masonry. Small string course near the head of the wall. The walls are about 0.7m in thickness, including the depth of the nesting boxes.  

The interior has 20 rows of eight nesting boxes in each of the eight sides apart from the entrance side, making a total of about 750 boxes. There are small landing shelves beneath each row. The base for the central revolving potence remains.  

A fine C18 dovecote notwithstanding the loss of its original domed roof and cupola, also listed for group value with Glynhir mansion.