The Dovecote, Hygga, Trellech,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

is a late 16th-century

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

, in an unusually complete state of preservation. Part of the service buildings for the, now demolished, Hygga House, the dovecote is a Grade II* listed building and a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History and description

The origin of the name ''Hygga'' is

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

, meaning "to comfort". In the 16th century, a substantial mansion, Hygga House, stood on the site but it has since been demolished. The dovecote, along with a large barn and a

shippon Shippon is a village in Oxfordshire, England, 1 mile west of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. It is the largest village in the civil parish of St. Helen Without, in Vale of White Horse District. It was in Berkshire until it was transferred to ...

and stables, comprised a range of service buildings for the house. In a poor state of repair for over two centuries, the dovecote was fully restored in the 1980s and now forms a rare example of a complete 16th-century dovecote. Sir Cyril Fox and Lord Raglan, in their three-volume guide '' Monmouthshire Houses'', note the rarity of such dovecotes within the county, citing one at Llantellen, Skenfrith as the only other known example. The architectural historian John Newman gives a dating for the dovecote, and the associated barns, of c.1600. The dovecote is constructed of lime-washed stone rubble, with a "stone-slated conical roof". Unusually for a dovecote, it has windows with ovolo

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s. Above the windows are six tiers of nesting boxes, set into the wall. The dovecote is a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, and a Grade II* listed building, its listing recording the dovecote as a "particularly fine and complete example".

Footnotes

References

Sources

* * * * {{Cite book , last=Whittle, first=Elisabeth , title=A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales: Glamorgan and Gwent , url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30739843 , year=1992 , publisher=

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...

, location=London , isbn=9780117012219 , oclc=30739843 Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Scheduled monuments in Monmouthshire Dovecotes