Dovecote at Cresswell Home Farm

Dovecote, part of a planned range of farm buildings built in 1830. All the buildings are built of tooled stone with ashlar dressings and have slate roofs. The dovecote is situated within a tower built on top of an engine house. It is an unusual position made very unusual in that the chimney from the engine house rises up through the dovecote. The tower itself is of three stages with an external stone staircase to the first floor door. The dovecote is on the third floor. The pigeons gained access from holes above the alighting bands present on each face. The interior of the dovecote retains its nest boxes and also contains the internal chimney stack.
In poor condition, the whole farmyard is derelict and beginning to deteriorate. Recommend scheduling. A very rare association between the dovecote and the engine house made even more important because of the chimney being designed so it actually runs up through the dovecote. This may reflect an attempt to supply the doves with heat throughout the year so they would breed more successfully in the winter, thereby providing more birds for eating. The dovecote retains its nest boxes. (1)

The monument includes a dovecote situated at Cresswell Home Farm, a planned farm of 1830. The dovecote, A Listed Building Grade II, forms part of a small group of buildings, including an engine house and a threshing barn, which are attached to the rear of the north range of the farm. The rest of the farm buildings, including the engine house and threshing barn, are also Listed Buildings Grade II but are not included in the scheduling.
The dovecote is visible as a stone building 3.7 square metres and 11m high. Externally, it is constructed in three stages and the stonework is ashlar faced. On all four external faces there is a broad chamfered setback above the first stage and projecting moulded stone bands above the upper two stages. On the third, uppermost stage of the dovecote each face has a series of three pigeon openings, above an alighting band, upon which pigeons could perch. The west face of the dovecote contains a doorway and a window through the wall of the first stage and a window in the second stage. The north face has a door and a window through the first stage; an external staircase, that is also included in the scheduling, gives access to the latter door. All window and door openings have raised and chamfered surrounds.
Within the dovecote at least 60 stone nesting boxes, visible as rectangular recesses, are arranged around all four sides; the individual size of the nest boxes vary but most are on average 0.34m high by 0.38m wide. In the south east corner there is a 1 square metre stone chimney which rises through the dovecote, almost to roof height. This chimney acted as a flue from the former engine house attached to the east side of the dovecote. Its location within the dovecote is considered to be deliberate, with the aim of providing a heat source throughout the year, thus enabling the doves to breed successfully during the winter and provide a reliable source of winter food.
The stone wall of the adjacent engine house, which abuts the north wall of the dovecote, is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it, which falls within the monument's 1m protective margin is included.
Although the structure is roofless and some of the stonework at the south east corner has deteriorated, the dovecote forms a complete standing structure, which survives well. Following a national review of this class of monument in 1998, the dovecote is considered to be one of only a few exceptional survivals in Northumberland. It is rare in that external and internal features, including nest boxes, survive largely intact. The dovecote thus retains valuable evidence for the manner of its use and serves to illustrate part of the economy and lifestyle of the inhabitants of the 19th century farm. The association between the dovecote and the engine house is a very rare occurrence, and the fact that the chimney is designed to run up through the dovecote enhances the importance of the monument. (2)

The dovecote/chimney is now a roofless shell. The structure is as described. Only the top string only survives its western half and of the parapet above that, with only four blocks on the west and one on the south. Sections of the two courses below the top string have fallen around the northeastern corner. Most of the collapsed stonework is within the dovecote or the engine house part. The chimney stack is over 1m square and remains in the south-east corner. The timberwork is now badly decayed. (3)