The dovecote is situated just south of the church on private land.
It was built in 1326 by Brother Richard de Biri. This is known by an inscription (now weathered and unreadable) in the tympanum over the south doorway which recorded it’s building. The inscription was deciphered some eighty years ago by the Reverend John Webb, a local historian.
An account of 1313 indicates that the Templar dovecote was in a state of disrepair, and it is not known if Brother Richard de Biri repaired the original or built a completely new one.
The dovecote is a windowless building with an internal diameter of 17 feet 6 inches and walls measuring 3 feet 10 inches thick.
Arranged around the interior walls are 20 rows of 33 L shaped nesting boxes. The holes turn at right angles inside the wall, each row turning in the opposite direction to that above and below it.
(Pictures courtesy of Rachel Wood)