tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post4268328173420380518..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Chastleton, OxfordshirePhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-62119797051564294512012-02-22T09:45:27.680+00:002012-02-22T09:45:27.680+00:00Peter: Yes, it's a wonderful tucked-away corne...Peter: Yes, it's a wonderful tucked-away corner of Oxfordshire. These days the great house is signposted, so you don't come across it by accident. But when you get there, there are still pleasurable surprises, like this dovecote.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-45420096286722573842012-02-22T09:36:56.337+00:002012-02-22T09:36:56.337+00:00One of my favourite dovecotes. Its now isolated po...One of my favourite dovecotes. Its now isolated position gives it great charm, as most of them are still surrounded by or closely adjacent to other ancillary buildings, which of course is how it should be. The whole environment at Chastleton sets my heart racing.Peter Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00027878122724846472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-67246547176449365432012-02-20T15:19:03.601+00:002012-02-20T15:19:03.601+00:00Anon: Thank you for sharing those interesting link...Anon: Thank you for sharing those interesting links. I'll amend my post later.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-79667451540760060522012-02-20T14:47:28.018+00:002012-02-20T14:47:28.018+00:00Thanks. I found those sources, but I wonder if it...Thanks. I found those sources, but I wonder if it is factually correct.<br /><br />The only two Acts in 1761-2 that seem to be relevant are the Game Act 1762 (2 Geo. 3 c. 19) and the Preservation of House Doves, etc. Act 1762 (2 Geo 3 c.29).<br /><br />These Acts build on Acts of James I by increasing the criminal punishments for killing certain birds - the former applies to certain game birds but not pigeons, and the latter to house-doves and pigeons.<br /><br />See http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zEAk1Da6saoC&pg=PA773<br /><br />As I understand it, there is very old caselaw that allows the local court-leet to punish a person who builds or operates a dovecote without permission from the lord of the manor, and separate caselaw under which pigeons can be a nuisance, and it was generally permitted to kill pigeons that came onto your land. A case in 1619 (possibly slightly earlier - I have found reports from 1615 and 1616 called Prat (or Pratt) v Sterne (or Stearn which seem to be the right one) held that that freeholders did not need the lord's permission, but I can't find anything that specifically grants the ability to build dovecotes to tenants without seeking prior permission (and that is the sort of thing that you might expect to be dealt with under the terms of the tenancy anyway).<br /><br />See http://www.wargravehistory.org.uk/oct06.html and http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8qQyAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA886 and http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2GJGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA24 and http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gMsDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA39<br /><br />Apparently dovecotes became less popular after turnips were introduced as winter forage for other livestock!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-29544376774648193092012-02-20T12:11:56.370+00:002012-02-20T12:11:56.370+00:00Anon: Thanks for your comment. Yes, lords didn'...Anon: Thanks for your comment. Yes, lords didn't like other people's birds eating their corn - and dovecote building seems to have increased when corn was cheap and plentiful. I don't know the name of the Act of Parliament. My source was something published by English Heritage, and the act is also mentioned in an interesting article in British Archaeology, <a href="http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba35/ba35feat.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-84500441416476863152012-02-20T11:57:03.519+00:002012-02-20T11:57:03.519+00:00And the reason for limiting the spread of dovecote...And the reason for limiting the spread of dovecotes?<br /><br />The bird eat a lot of grain (and the lord of the manor may be content to feed "his" grain to the birds, but not so content for his tenants' birds to do the same); and guano from dovecotes is a source of saltpetre for gunpowder manufacture (and also a fertilizer).<br /><br />Which Act of Parliament was this, by the way?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-128819172824985342012-02-20T10:33:08.169+00:002012-02-20T10:33:08.169+00:00Bazza: That's a very good question, actually. ...Bazza: That's a very good question, actually. I looked at the picture before posting it, and wondered, and decided not to try to correct it in Photoshop. <br /> Funnily enough, I pass near this building when visiting some dear friends, who have over the years given me many memorable and highly enjoyable meals. So maybe I was listing, not the building.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-40188146738097394322012-02-20T10:27:03.066+00:002012-02-20T10:27:03.066+00:00Is the building slightly listing to the left (or w...Is the building slightly listing to the left (or was the photograph taken after a splendid port-fuelled lunch?)<br />Maybe if all the population had been able to build dovecotes we may have less of their cousins, the flying vermin known as pigeons today!<br /><a href="http://todiscoverice.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’</a>bazzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794010156639774028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-841779180382287262012-02-20T09:55:56.758+00:002012-02-20T09:55:56.758+00:00Selena: Thank you so much! I'm so pleased that...Selena: Thank you so much! I'm so pleased that this blog finds readers around the world, not just in Britain.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-79748102019416598352012-02-20T09:53:35.546+00:002012-02-20T09:53:35.546+00:00Your blog makes English architecture more accesibl...Your blog makes English architecture more accesible. Thank you for sharing. Greetings from Spain.Selena Massivitushttp://selenaenlaproximaestacion.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-44352563957259335982012-02-20T09:28:45.232+00:002012-02-20T09:28:45.232+00:00Jennifer: Thank you for your comment. It does look...Jennifer: Thank you for your comment. It does look rather like a folly, and this folly-like effect is accentuated by the fact that the building stands alone in its field. I guess when it was first built, next to the now-demolished house, its context would have made it seem rather different – perhaps those arches echoed some detail on the house, for example – and maybe less eccentric.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-33663884493147871072012-02-19T22:48:17.961+00:002012-02-19T22:48:17.961+00:00Just lovely, almost looks like a folly. Very inte...Just lovely, almost looks like a folly. Very interesting post. Jenniferthe designers musehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09870200821796271267noreply@blogger.com