Temple Thornton Dovecote

Out on a meander near Morpeth, we came across this gorgeous garden dovecote in Temple Thornton, resplendent in honey-coloured sandstone.

The Grade II former dovecote is hidden away in a lane just adjacent to Meldon Hall, attached to a house.

The tower is three storeys high with thin slivers of windows to the front and side, whilst the top tier facing east has lancet windows which looked a little more ecclesiastical. The dovecote with its square tower is loosely modelled on the tower of The Church of St Andrew in Hartburn.

The south side of the tower had visible but blocked up apertures where doves once cooed, set beneath a smartly corbelled projecting parapet. Dovecotes were a vital part of life, providing a source of fresh meat, eggs, and fertiliser.

Once the site of a Roman station, known as Hornton West, the land here is thought to have been owned by The Knights Templar in Medieval times, hence the name transposition to Temple Thornton.

The farm on which the dovecote sits was believed to have been a chapel. The land was given to The Knights Templar by William de Lisle and was used as a camera for the chaplain, a camera being a vaulted chamber or room.

Today, this is a humble family home, so if you visit for a glimpse of the gothic and want to coo at the coop, just be mindful that it's someone's house. A charming house to boot, though I'd be tempted to reinstitute the original pigeons and give flight to the dove from above!

Thanks very much to the lovely guy Rob, who lived here and was generous about me wanting to photograph his hoooooos to share with others!

There are other fabulous finds just close to the Temple Thornton Dovecote. Why not have a walk around the woods to find The Hartburn Grotto?