Summary

Dovecote and barn at Kyre Park 80m north east of the church of St. Mary.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 20 May 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records. As such they do not yet have the full descriptions of their modernised counterparts available. Please contact us if you would like further information.

This monument includes a dovecote and a barn situated within the grounds of Kyre Park on the western side of the Kyre Brook. The monument survives as a freestanding dovecote and barn situated 25m apart. The dovecote is circular in plan constructed of rendered sandstone rubble and brick about 8m in diameter and approximately 10m high with a conical plain tiled roof. On the west side is a round arched doorway with a second doorway with a flat lintel to the south east. About 1m beneath the eaves is a continuous stone band. The roof has four gabled dormer windows each with two light casement windows and the roof is surmounted by a gabled cupola. Six hundred nesting boxes are located within the dovecote in twenty tires each with a stone landing perch. The barn is rectangular in plan about 38m long and up to 10m wide. It is constructed of brick on a sandstone rubble base with a double pitched stone tile roof with crow stepped gables. Approximately 3m from each end of the southern façade are two large projecting gabled porches with crow stepped gable coping and two light chamfered windows with stone mullions. Between the porches are large cart entrances flanked by stepped buttresses. The northern façade has six large buttresses divided by slit ventilation holes and two blocked cart entrances. The roof has large raking struts and collar and tie-beam trusses.

The dovecote was constructed about 1600 and was moved to its present location in 1756 for Sir Edmund Pytts when he created the formal gardens. The barn was built about 1618 by William Harrison for Edmund Pytts and is now a function room.

The dovecote is a Grade II* listed building, the barn is listed at Grade II and both lie within a Registered garden.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Dovecotes are specialised structures designed for the breeding and keeping of doves as a source of food and as a symbol of high social status. Most surviving examples were built in the period between the 14th and the 17th centuries, although both earlier and later examples are documented. They were generally freestanding structures, square or circular in plan and normally of brick or stone, with nesting boxes built into the internal wall. They were frequently sited at manor houses or monasteries. Whilst a relatively common monument class (1500 examples are estimated to survive out of an original population of c.25,000), most will be considered to be of national interest, although the majority will be listed rather than scheduled. They are also generally regarded as an important component of local distinctiveness and character. Despite re building and partial destruction, the dovecote and barn survive well in a formal garden setting. The dovecote and barn retain important architectural features and provide an insight into the social and economic history of the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Brooks, A, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, (2007)
Other
PastScape Monument Nos:- 112661, 112696 & 661296

Source: Historic England