Description

Dating from the late 17th century it is a square plan pavilion type doocot constructed from rubble masonry and it lies a short distance to the northeast of the castle. There is a pointed arch entrance and a rat course between partially surviving corbelled angle turrets which incorporate flight holes. It is now roofless. There are stone nesting boxes to the interior (seen in 2014).

Statement of Interest

Within the history of doocots the example at Castle Huntly is of particular interest for its age. 17th century examples of surviving doocots are rare, the majority of surviving examples date from the 18th century onwards. The design of the Castle Huntly doocot is also particularly unusual. Doocots tend to be functional buildings with little embellishment, other than perhaps crow-stepped gables. The pointed arch entrance and corbelled angle turrets with flight holes design at Castle Huntly is exceptionally rare. The Castle Huntly doocot is an old and rare example of a doocot, albeit that the pyramidal roof and lantern no longer remains.

While sources state that the doocot dates from the late 17th century it is possible that the corbelled angle turrets (and pyramidal roof which no longer survives) were additions of the second half of the 18th century when the castle was being altered.

Doocots provided shelter, protection from vermin and nesting facilities for pigeons. These distinctive structures, found principally on monastic establishments and estates with large households, provided a welcome and easily caught source of meat, particularly in the winter months, while the accumulated manure was a rich fertiliser for the land. They are most common in arable areas which could provide sufficient food for the pigeons and are therefore more prevalent in the east of Scotland. Doocots largely ceased to be built after the mid-19th century when the need for them diminished, although a few decorative examples were constructed in the Edwardian period.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2015 as part of the Scottish Prison Service Listing Review 2014-15. Previously listed as 'Castle Huntly, Dovecot'.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17846508

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback