Dovecotes
in Gloucestershire in the time of Henry III
Niall
C.E.J. O’Brien
This article on dovecotes
in Gloucestershire in the time of Henry III is based chiefly on the information
contained in the various inquisitions post mortem conducted in the county
during that time. The earliest Gloucestershire inquisition concerned the estate
of William Avenel and was made in May 1236, a full twenty years into the reign
of Henry III.[1]
Introduction
A dovecote was a
structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or
circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They
generally contain rows of openings inside the structure for the birds to nest. The
rows usually start a few feet above ground level to prevent cats and other mammals
from getting at the birds. Pigeons and doves were an important food source
historically in Western Europe and were kept for their eggs, flesh, and dung.[2]
It is sometimes
difficult to know if a dovecote was for pigeons or doves. Occasionally
documents come to the rescue with an answer. In 1431 a run-down dovecote at
Wantage in Berkshire was worth nothing per year because there were no doves
while another dovecote at Tawstock, Devon, was also worth nothing because it
had no doves.[3]
The Romans seem to have
had introduced dovecotes to Britain as suggested by pigeon holes at Caerwent.
After the Romans left so it seems did dovecotes. The Normans re-introduced
dovecotes after 1066.[4]
Stanley
dovecote
This first inquisition
post mortem to mention a dovecote was made on 22nd February 1246 and
concerned the estate of Robert de Pontelarch. This said Robert de Pontelarch
held land and buildings in the vills of Wulurichesthrop, Waddon, Mortun,
Stanley and Coctebir from various landlords. It was only in the vill of Stanley
that a dovecote was mentioned and the issues of the dovecote was worth 2s (2 shillings)
per annum for Robert de Pontelarch. Stanley was held of Ralph de Suchleg for a
third part of a knight’s fee and after the death of Robert de Pontelarch came
into the king’s hand.
The vill of Stanley
contained, beside the dovecote, two carucates of demesne land (4 marks per
annum), nine virgates of land held in villeinage (72s), tallage at the feast of
St. Michael worth one mark and the issues of a garden worth 15s per year. Ralph
de Pontelarch was the next heir of Robert de Pontelarch, his brother, after the
first heir, William de Pontelarch, was lately outlawed.[5]
Kenemerford
dovecote
In 1258 an inquisition
at Kenemerford into the estate of the late Patricius de Chaurces showed that he
held, among other property, a garden and dovecote which together earn 20s per
year.[6] Kenemerford
is now spelt as Kempsford.[7]
A separate inquisition
taken in November 1258 concerning the manor of Kenemerford expanded the
information relating to the garden and dovecote. This second inquisition said
that “in the garden of the said manor there are 2 acres of land, 8 perches in
length and 7 perches in breadth, worth per annum in fruit and herbage one mark;
one fishpond which when stocked is worth per annum one mark; one dovecot worth
per annum half a mark; [and] the curtilage is worth per annum 2s” giving a
total of 35s 4d per year.[8]
One mark was 13s 4d and so a half mark was 6s 8d and the addition of these two
figures gives you 20s which was the figure given for the garden and dovecote in
the first inquisition.
Also in the manor of
Kenemerford Patricius de Chaurces had two mills on the River Culne worth £4 per
year and fishing on the same river worth 2s per year. The fishing rights on the
River Thames were worth 20s per year.[9]
Patricius de Chaurces
was succeeded by his son and heir, Pain or Paganus de Chaurces who was fourteen
years old in 1258.[10] An
inquisition of Kenemerford in 1283, on the death of Sir Patricius de Chaurces,
made no mention of a dovecote.[11] It
could have been in ruins by that time or was under different ownership.
Wykewauer
dovecote
The third dovecote
mentioned in the Gloucestershire inquisitions post mortem was located at Wykewauer.
The name Wykewauer could be the modern Wickwar (given by King John to John la
Warre) but seems more probably to be Childs-Wickham, five miles south-east of
Evesham.[12]
The dovecote at Wkyewauer was worth 2s per annum and was part of the demesne
lands. In 1269 Wkyewauer belonged to William de Bello Campo of Elmelye in
Gloucestershire who held it of the King in chief by the service of a fifth part
of a knight’s fee.[13]
Dovecote at Llantwit Major
Beverstane
dovecote
In the same year of
1269 an inquisition was made into the estate of the late Robert de Gurney. The inquisition
found that Robert de Gurney held three manors of the King in chief and each
manor contained a dovecote. The dovecote at Beverstane manor was worth 3s per
year. The arable land at Beverstane was worth 4d per acre and the meadow land
was worth 18d per acre.[14]
By 1286 the value of the dovecote had dropped to 2s per year at the death of
Anselmus de Gurney.[15]
Beverstane is modern Beverstone located two miles west of Tetbury Station.[16]
Weston
dovecote
The second manor owned
by Robert de Gurney in 1269 was at Weston where the dovecote was worth 5s per
year. The arable land at Weston was worth 6d per acre while the meadow land was
worth 2s per acre.[17]
The land at Weston was therefore of better quality than the land at Beverstane
and the dovecote at Weston was worth more money. Is there a connection between
the value of farm land and the value of a dovecote?
There are several
places in Gloucestershire with the name Weston. The place here referred to is
King’s Weston in Henbury parish, about four miles north-west of Bristol.[18]
Halberton
dovecote
The dovecote at
Halberton, also owned by Robert de Gurney, was only worth 3s while the arable land
was worth 6d per acre and the meadow land was 2s per acre.[19] This
Halberton information implies that there is no connection between land values
and the value of a dovecote as if there was a connection the Halberton dovecote
should have been worth 5s per year as the land values were the same as at
Weston. Halberton is now known as Elberton, located some three miles from
Thornbury.[20]
Oure
dovecote
In addition to the
above three manors, Robert de Gurney held the manors of Oure and Puriton from
the Earl of Warwick by the service of half a knight’s fee. Puriton was demised
to the men of that vill by Maurice de Gaunt, uncle of Robert de Gurney, in fee
farm for £10. The records do not record if there was a dovecote at Puriton or
not.
The manor of Oure did
have a dovecote and it was worth 4s per year with arable land worth 6d per acre
and meadow land worth 18d per acre. Robert de Gurney also held the manor of
Rewyke from the Bishop of Worcester but the extent of this manor is torn away
and it is not known if a dovecote existed at Redwyke or not. Robert de Gurney
was succeeded in all these lands and dovecotes by his son and heir, Ancellus de
Gurney.[21]
By the time Ancellus de Gurney died in 1286 the dovecote had decreased in value
to 2s 5d per year.[22]
Nesting boxes in the Ballybeg Abbey dovecote, Co. Cork, Ireland
Seynesbyr
dovecote
In 1271 an extent of
the lands of Ralph Musard showed he had a dovecote on his manor of Seynesbyr
and it was worth 3s per annum. Ralph Musard held two parts of the manor of Seynesbyr
of the King in chief and all of the manors of Musardere and Sudinton. The
surviving extent of these two latter manors was made in 1273 and showed no dovecote
at those places. Ralph Musard was succeeded by his brother, Nicholas Musard who
was aged over thirty years in 1271.[23] Seynesbyr
is now known as Saintbury and is three miles south of Honeybourne.[24]
It would seem that
Nicholas Musard made improvements to the estate in short time. In 1273 the
estates of Ralph Musard were subjected to another inquisition and the dovecote
at Seynesbyr had increased in value to 4s per year.[25] When
the inquisition post mortem for John Musard was taken in 1289 no dovecote was
recorded at Seynesbyr but when Malculinus Musard died in 1300 there was a
dovecote there worth 40d or 3s 4d.[26]
The value of a dovecote
can also decrease over time. In 1269 Weston dovecote was worth 5s but by 1274
was only worth 2s per year. The dovecote was then the property of Geoffrey de
Langeleye who held it of William de Bello Campo. In 1286 the dovecote was still
only worth 2s per year.[27]
Rowell
dovecote
In an unknown year in
the reign of King Henry III an extent was ordered into the lands of the Abbot
of St. Everel in Gloucestershire. The Abbot was patron of the church of Rowell
and held around the church two carucates of land, some wood, villeinage land
and five cottages. He also had a garden and a dovecote with a combined value of
20s per year. It is not known what the dovecote on its own was worth.[28]
Rowell is located three miles north-west of Notgrove Station.[29]
Lechlade
dovecote
At an unknown year in
the reign of King Henry III an extent was made of the manor of Lechlade. It found
that the dovecote along with the herbage of the garden was worth 4s.[30] This
connection between the dovecote and the garden could be significant. In the
other dovecotes noted above they were often valued with the garden. At Rowell a
total value was given for both. An examination of the above dovecotes does not
support any direct link in the value of a garden to the value of a dovecote.
By 1300 there was only
a small garden at Lechlade worth 8d and the value of the dovecote had declined by
75% to 12d per annum.[31]
Lechlade is located near where the River Leach joins the River Thames.[32]
Lechlade is the last
dovecote recorded in the inquisitions post mortem in the time of Henry III. The
next recorded dovecote was made at Easter 1273 in the first year of King Edward
the First. This dovecote was at Siston and was worth 5s per year.
Conclusion
The dovecotes recorded
in Gloucestershire during the time of King Henry III had varied values and
consequently varied in size from the big dovecot at Kenemerford to the small
one at Stanley. The value of a dovecote could also change over time with the
value going up as well as going down. It seems that there is no obvious link
between the value of a dovecote and the land values of a manor or the value of
the manorial garden.
The
value of each dovecote
Kenemerford = 6s 8d
Weston = 5s
Oure = 4s
Lechlade = 4s
Beverstane = 3s
Halberton = 3s
Seynesbyr = 3s
Stanley = 2s
Rowell = unknown value
For other articles relating to dovecotes see
http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2013/10/dovecotes-in-calendar-of-inquisitions.html
and see
http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2014/01/dovecots-of-llanthony-priory-in-ireland.html
=============
End of post
==============
[1]
Sidney J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of
inquisitions post mortem for Gloucestershire in the Plantagenet period, Part IV
20 Henry III to 29 Edward 1, 1236-1300 (British Record Society, 1903), pp. vii,
1
[3]
Claire Noble (ed.), Calendar of
Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume XXIII, 1427-1432 (Boydell Press &
National Archives, 2004), nos. 576, 577
[5]
Sidney J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of
inquisitions post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 7
[6]
Sidney J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of
inquisitions post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 20
[7] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire (John Bellows, Gloucester, 1913), p. 95
[8]
Sidney J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of
inquisitions post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 21
[9]
Sidney J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of
inquisitions post mortem Gloucestershire,
Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 21
[10] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , pp. 20, 23
[11] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300
, p. 124
[12] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, pp. 41, 163; J.E.E.S. Sharp (ed.), Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem preserved in the Public Record
Office, Vol. 1, Henry III (Kraus reprint, 1973), p. 422
[13] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 40
[14] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 40
[15] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300
, p. 129
[16] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, p. 20
[17] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 41
[18] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, pp. 82, 162; J.E.E.S. Sharp (ed.), Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem preserved in the Public Record
Office, Vol. 1, Henry III, p. 420
[19] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 41
[20] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, p. 59
[21] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 42
[22] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300
, p. 132
[23] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 50
[24] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, p. 132
[25] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 62
[26] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300
, p. 149, 219
[27] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300
, pp. 87, 131
[28] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 53
[29] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, p. 130
[30] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300 , p. 55
[31] Sidney
J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of inquisitions
post mortem Gloucestershire, Part IV, 1236-1300
, p. 239
[32] W.
St. Clair Baddeley, Place-names of
Gloucestershire, p. 98
Lovely story nice going around with you taking photos and writing history and nice to read it when it done
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