Garway Dovecote stands close to the Church of St Michael in the village of
Garway
Garway cy, Llanwrfwy is a civil parish in south-west Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 430 at the 2011 census. It is set on a hillside above the River Monnow about 6 1/4 miles (10 km) northwest of Monmouth. I ...
,
Herefordshire, England.
Historic England dates the
dovecote to the early 14th century. The original structure was built by the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
, and later reconstructed by their successors, the
Knights Hospitaller. The dovecote is a
Grade I listed building and a
scheduled monument.
History and description
The present dovecote dates from the 14th century when it was built by the
Knights Hospitaller. Documentary and build evidence suggests that this was a reconstruction of an earlier building erected by the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
. The Templars had established a
preceptor
A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition.
Buddhist monastic orders
Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...
y at Garway in the 12th century. The Church of St Michael, which stands adjacent to the dovecote, was originally the principal building of the preceptory site. The Friends of Garway Church society gives a build date for the dovecote of 1326.
The dovecote is circular and constructed of
sandstone rubble with a flattened
conical roof. The interior holds 19 rows of
nesting boxes.
The
pigeons kept within the structure provided a source of meat, and their
droppings were used as
fertilizer. In his study, ''A Book of Dovecotes'' published in 1920, Arthur Owens Cooke described the Garway dovecote at unusual length owing to its "its undoubted age
ndthe excellence of its workmanship". The Friends' website describes Garway as "the finest
medieval dovecote in England",
a view supported by Alfred Watkins in his study, ''Pigeon Houses of Herefordshire and Gower''. It is a
Grade I listed building and a
scheduled monument.
Gallery
Archaeological Journal, Volume 1, 00283a.png, Illustration from the Archaeological Journal, 1845
Doveholes in a dovecot - geograph.org.uk - 3262489.jpg, Doveholes
Interior of Dovecot - geograph.org.uk - 3262486.jpg, Roof
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
* {{Cite journal
, last = Watkins, first = Alfred
, title=Pigeon Houses in Herefordshire and Gower
, journal=Archaeological Journal
, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9cLtkXFY88C
, volume=48
, year=1891
, location=London
, publisher=
Longman
Grade I listed buildings in Herefordshire
Scheduled monuments in Herefordshire
Dovecotes
