Description

Late 18th century. 2-storey, double lectern dovecot; converted into house. String course at 1st floor; eaves course. Rubble sandstone.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: single windows in outer bays at ground floor; single windows above at 1st floor. 2 pigeon posts on roof; ball finials at top of skews. Modern house extension to right.

W ELEVATION: single window.

N ELEVATION: blind wall to original dovecot.

E WALL: modern extension

12-pane timber sash and case windows to main elevation of dovecot; modern glazing to extension. Straight skews.

INTERIOR: not seen 2001.

Statement of Interest

A-Group with Ravelston Tower, Mary Erskine School (Ravelston House), Entrance Gateway and Boundary Walls, Garden Walls of No 37 and No 87, Queensferry Road Entrance Gate, ice-houses and 31 & 33 Ravelston Dykes Road. The old tower house at Ravelston was erected by George Foulis, who purchased the estate in 1620. The dovecot was a later addition to the estate. The lectern design for dovecots became popular in the seventeenth-century, superseding the beehive design. The advantages of the lectern design were: the interior could be divided into 2 chambers thus reducing disturbance to birds and offering more security; the design allowed for more decoration than the beehive. By 1617 dovecots had become so popular that only lairds whose lands produced 'ten chalders of victual' a year could own one. The size and date of the Ravelston Dovecot suggests that the estate was very productive.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17792176

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets