C O N T E X T 1 0 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 9 39 Matthew Price The doocot capital of Scotland Fife has almost a quarter of all Scotland’s listed doocots (more than 100 of them) but the future of these curious vernacular buildings is far from certain. The plight of Fife’s doocots typifies many of the conservation challenges currently faced by the owners of historic buildings, and in particular rural vernacular buildings. These structures were built for a very specific purpose, and their design and location present major difficulties in identifying viable future uses which justify expenditure on adaptation, repair and maintenance. Fife is without doubt the doocot capital of Scotland. It has been claimed that there were no fewer than 360 doocots in Fife during the 18th century. Over 100 listed examples remain today. This represents a surviving concentration of roughly one per five square miles, almost a quarter of all listed doocots in Scotland. Only East Lothian shares a similar concentration. Aberdeenshire has the next largest number of doocots with 62, in an area five times the size of Fife. Many of these structures can be seen from the road or during walks in the countryside. Doocots form an important part of Fife’s rich built heritage, but for how much longer? It is probable that so many doocots were built in Fife because estates were relatively small, with mainly rich arable land. Here the production of abundant crops of grain would have provided an excellent source of food for the doves. Doves, which can travel up to two miles or more in flocks, could devastate a tenant farmer’s crops. From doocots’ 17th century heyday, social and economic changes led to their increasing obsolescence. Influences included the shift of power from the land owners to the farmers and, it is said, the introduction of the turnip, which allowed the over-wintering of livestock. Doocots were built by landowners to provide secure, suitable accommodation for flocks of domesticated or semi-domesticated rock doves. The birds needed a source of fresh water and a nesting site, preferably a cave on open ground. The most basic accommodation was that provided by nesting boxes carved into the rock of cave walls. A rare surviving example survives at Doo Cave, West Wemyss. There were originally 12 caves, four with nesting boxes. The other three doo caves and five other caves have been lost as a result of coastal erosion and mining subsidence. Domesticated doves could produce up to 16 young a year over a five- to six-year period. The doocots were specifically Leuchars Castle doocot. Category A listed, it is at risk and in a critical condition.
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