Corstorphine Dovecot
| Corstorphine Dovecot | |
|
Midlothian | |
|---|---|
 Corstorphine Doocot | |
| Type: | Dovecote |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT20057251 |
| Location: | 55°56’20"N, 3°16’53"W |
| Town: | Corstorphine |
| History | |
| Address: | Dovecot Road |
| Built 16th century | |
| For: | Lord Forrester of Corstorphine |
| Dovecote | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Historic Scotland |
| Website: | Corstorphine Dovecot |
Corstorphine Dovecot is a grand, stone-built dovecote, or 'doocot' which stands in Corstorphine, a pretty village of Midlothian which has become a well-regarded suburb of the county's mightiest town, Edinburgh.
The dovecote is all that remains of Corstorphine Castle, stronghold of the Lords Forrester of Corstorphine.
The doocot was built in the 16th century within the castle estate. It was a fashionable addition to a landed estate of the time, eye-catching and indicative of status, but also a practical feature: the pigeons bred here supplied the kitchens of the estate with fresh meat. Within the tower the interior is arrayed with nesting boxes, 1,060 in all, though the interior is not accessible to the general public.
Corstorphine Dovecot is a fairly typical dovecot of this period, and is in an excellent state of repair notwithstanding the disappearance of the castle for which it was build. Today it stands at the edge of the suburb and is in the care of Historic Scotland.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Corstophine Castle) |
- Corstorphine Dovecot – Historic Scotland
- Corstophine Dovecote on 'Scotland off the Beaten Track'