Wichenford Dovecote

Wichenford Dovecote is a small but striking 17th-century half-timbered dovecote at Wichenford Court, about five and a half miles north-west of Worcester. Square in plan, it is timber-framed with rendered wattle-and-daub panels on a sandstone plinth, under a tiled roof crowned by a small glazed lantern, and inside are 557 wooden nesting boxes above a cobbled floor. Such buildings were status symbols as much as larders: the Trust explains that until the seventeenth century the right to keep doves belonged to the aristocratic elite, the birds supplying food for the table, feathers for the household and manure for the estate, and it names Wichenford among its fine examples. Reviewers enjoy the handmade paper doves inside and point out that it is free to visit. Tips from visitors: go through the metal gate on the road and the dovecote is down on the right by the farm buildings, and park on the street or near the church opposite. There is no toilet, paths are uneven, only assistance dogs are admitted and there is no access to Wichenford Court.