MM150

Dovecot at Hygga Farm  

 

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Trellech United  

348557  

203651  

Agriculture and Subsistence  

dovecote  

Post Medieval/Modern  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of the remains of a circular dovecote, dating to the early post-medieval period. A dovecote is a house for doves and pigeons, usually placed at a height above the ground, with openings and provision inside for roosting and breeding. The dovecote stands in the outer part of the farm garden to the SE of the farmhouse, which has replaced the earlier building with which it was associated. It has been restored and is built of coursed Old Red sandstone rendered with lime and painted white and stands some 4m high to the apex of its corbelled, domed roof. The roof is covered with stone tiles and has a distinctive central louvre. The upper outer face of the roof has six horizontal ledges with vertical divisions, between which are numerous pigeon holes. There is a mullioned two-light window high on the western side with additional iron bars to either side of the mullion and another mullioned window in the lower part of the eastern side. The simple arched doorway is to the north and is 1.6m high. Internally the dovecote measures 3.5m in diameter continuous horizontal rows of nesting holes beginning some 1.2 m above the floor level. These are formed by red sandstone slabs projecting as shallow ledges and divided at intervals into individual holes by vertical blocks. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of post-medieval domestic and agricultural architecture. It is a rare surviving example of this date and form in south-east Wales, although there are a few medieval examples elsewhere in the county. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.