Thursday 10 March 2011

The new dovecote exhibition

1200 doves once roosted in the 15th century dovecote at the Prebendal Manor. The doves were a valuable source of protein for the manor's inhabitants. It is now one of the few remaining late medieval dovecotes in the area.

Originally the dovecote probably had a thatched roof, however in the 18th century it was re roofed with a saddle back Collyweston slate roof.

In the 19th century it was used as a work shop, and to provide more light a window was inserted into the west wall. A iron stove to provide heat was also built into the dovecote.

When we bought the manor in 1968 the dovecote was so filthy that we did not know that it had a nice brick floor.


Working with our local Nassington primary school we are now about to embark on an exciting new project designing a new exhibition to be displayed in the dovecote. The children will be producing some history, paintings and sculptures. These will go on display when the manor opens to the public in late April.
We have hung four large doves to display  the text and paintings. We rather hope that these large painted doves will deter the wild pigeons from entering and making a mess.


www.prebendal-manor.co.uk

No comments:

Post a Comment