News & Events

CALLING ALL DOVECOTES!

Friends of the Cotswolds have made their first grant to the British Dovecote Society.

The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has the largest concentration of dovecotes anywhere in the UK and they are an important feature with distinctive pigeon houses attached to manor houses, farms and former monasteries. The Society will be undertaking a detailed survey of all dovecotes in the Cotswolds AONB to record each building, method of construction, condition and extent of public access.

“Dovecotes are an important part of the Cotswold landscape” said Simon Randall, Chairman of the Friends of the Cotswolds.

“Over the centuries dovecotes and their pigeons have contributed hugely to life in the Cotswolds through availability of meat, manure, and sport. The Friends are anxious to inspect all dovecotes and to encourage restoration through grant funding”.

Alan Whitworth, Secretary of the British Dovecote Society said “We are delighted to be
undertaking this survey and would like to thank the Friends of the Cotswolds for their support. Dovecotes in the Cotswolds AONB come in many shapes and sizes. Our survey will record them all and help raise public awareness to encourage their preservation”.