Haggerstone dovecote in 1956. Photo by Northumberland County Council.

Dovecot. (1)

NU 0352 439. Upon a slight knoll amid undulating pasture land, a dovecote in a good state of repair and still in use.
It is circular, 6.7m in diameter, tapering slightly, upwards to an approximate height of 9m, and has a conical-shaped roof of timber, covered with stone tiles. The walls are of dressed stone, roughly coursed and cemented, and plastered over on the interior. The interior is faced up to the roof with brick-constructed pigeon-holes. There is a wooden door on the east side, and a blocked-up doorway on the west side. There are several square openings, at different heights around the tower. The form of this Dovecot suggests a 17th century date. (2)

As described and illustrated. (3)

Condition unchanged. (4)

Circa 40ft high, probably used for sheltering cattle in medieval period against Scottish raiders. Fine example of a dovecote, perhaps late medieval. Originally may have been a windmill as there are two doors at ground level on the east and west sides, with at least eight windows at various levels. (5)

Haggerston Dovecote, c.1/4 mile west of Haggerston Castle. Grade II. Probably 17th century, altered internally 18th century. Random rubble; roofless. Circular. Doorway on east side. Several small square openings with chamfered surrounds, some blocked. Lined with brick nesting boxes. The potence remains, but apart from the central post is in poor repair. (6)

Tapers to a conical timber roof with some stone tiles. Still in use. (7)

Windmill, converted to a dovecote in 1828 by lining the tower with c.500 brick nesting boxes. Tower is c.7.6m high and stands on an earth mound c.1.5m high in a field of ridge and furrow. (8)

Stone tower (Mill Index no 46/10002) mill with cement rendering. Slate roof with dove cupola. Potence in position. Originally a windmill (cornmill), sails and gear removed on conversion to dovecote. Decaying and open to vandalism. Conventional drive system (sizes not taken as whole was sealed off). Three pairs of stones. Rotary kiln, square grain drying kiln, grate in place. (9)

Circular dovecote, 6.7m in diameter, tapering upwards slightly to a height of approximately 9m. It has a conical-shaped roof, built of timber, originally covered with stone tiles, only some of which survive today as the dovecote is virtually roofless. The walls are of dressed stone, roughly coursed and cemented. There are at least eight small openings with chamfered surrounds, some of which are blocked. There are two doors, one of which is also blocked. The internal walls are plastered and lined with about 500 brick nest boxes. The potence remains but is in poor condition. The great height of this building is very unusual as is the fact that it had two doors and so many windows. It is thought that this building started out as a tower used for sheltering cattle in the medieval period against Scottish raiders. It is then thought to have been converted to a windmill and then a dovecote, in either the 17th, 18th or 19th centuries. It is said that this dovecote is the best in the area and is situated on a rise amidst ridge and furrow.
In poor condition. It is an unusual dovecote due to its past history. There are not many dovecotes which date from such an early date which can be proven to have been converted from another building. It retains both its potence and nest boxes, a combination which is not very common in this part of the country. The building is apparently, partially at least, roofless which means that the interior must be decaying. The exposure of the potence to the elements would make it particularly vulnerable to decay. It should therefore remain scheduled so that this unusual dovecote with a relatively intact interior will be reroofed, repaired and preserved. (10)

The dovecote first appear on mapping in 1820 on Fryer's Map of Northumberland. The more recent history of the building includes the removal of the wooden turret by strong winds in 1968, and further damage to the roof in 1972. The dovecote was left to deteriorate and in 1979 it was roofless. A visit to the building in January 2008 reported that although the roof is almost completely destroyed and only a few loose timber beams remain, the building structure seems sound. The remains of the potence survive but is under threat because of exposure to the weather. Many nesting boxes on the interior walls are intact and the sections which have fallen away show the original fabric of the building. The building fabric shows at least two phases of use, with evidence for windmill construction and dovecotes in the one structure. (11)

A watching brief was held in 2010 during clearance works in the interior and trenching outside the dovecote. Up to 1m depth of soil was removed from the interior revealing remains of the potence, an aggregate base for the potence and a flagstone floor. Several architectural items were also recovered, including structural timbers, door fittings, drainage and guttering, tapering roofing slates and brick tiles from the interior lining. One of the trenches revealed the foundation of the dovecote as well as a gap in the foundation wall that contained a doorway now blocked with mortared sandstone and a timber batten fixed across the base, two retaining walls extending away from the dovecote, a small area of hard standing and redeposited natural and rubble infill of an approach to the doorway. The blocked doorway confirms the existence of a basement although it is unknown if this has been infilled or remains empty. The two low walls and hardstanding suggest this was an access ramp to the basement.
The watching brief strongly suports the hypothesis that the building was initially a windmill, although no evidence was found to support its earliest use as a medieval shelter or hide. The building conforms to a type of small vaulted tower mill, being built on what may be a small artificial mound and constructed in three tiers, with a subterranean basement which is presumed to be vaulted. This type of windmill is commonly associated with Scotland and typically date to the 17th and 18th centuries. The vaulted basements were commonly used as receiving and dispatching areas. Haggerston differs from the usual arrangement of a basement extending outwards from the mill to provide ground-level access at the base of an artificial mound, and instead has what appears to be a deep foundation and ramped access cut through from ground level. Inside the dovecote two features also suggest an earlier use as a windmill. Firstly, the substantial size and location of the sawn-off timber strongly suggests it is the stub of a floor joist and further joist stubs may survive behind the brick lining. Secondly, a collapsed section of brickwork has revealed tooled rabbets for a shutter or window frame, indicating the windows were originally functional rather than merely decorative. It is still unclear when the windmill went out of use but seems likely to have been in the early 19th century. (12)

The windmill at Haggerston has been converted as a dovecote. (13)

Haggertson Windmill (Mill Index no 46/10002). Stone tower mill. The building remains, though as a dovecote with rotating ladder. (14)

NU 035 435. Haggerston dovecote. Scheduled No ND/114. (15a)

Recorded by NRIM as a windmill converted to a dovecote, photographed. (15b)