40 C O N T E X T 1 0 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 9 designed and located to facilitate the husbandry and harvesting of the birds for meat, particularly that of the unfledged birds called squabs. The resulting accumulation of guano, rich in potassium nitrate, was in the past a valuable source of fertiliser. It was also used in tanning; to make saltpetre for manufacturing gunpowder; and even for medicinal uses.The potential health implications for the fledgling birds due to dampness and the accumulation of guano (which could produce noxious gases such as ammonia) dictated that the structures be roofed and ventilated. Protection from vermin (after the introduction of the brown rat) and other predators (including humans, on occasion rustling whole flocks), further informed the building’s design.This included projecting rat courses, and robustly constructed doors and walls. Unlike polite architecture, the essential form and character of the doocot was dictated by practical needs. Each doocot tells a story that is very much of its place and time. They used local building materials, forms of construction and skills embodying many of the traditions and history of the place. Later styles may have become more decorative as their practical function diminished and landscape value increased, but they still retained these essential characteristics. Although the Romans kept pigeons, it was the Normans who first introduced dovecots into Britain. The oldest surviving example dates from 1126. They were introduced into Scotland by the 12th and 13th centuries with the establishment of the feudal system. The oldest examples in Fife date from the 16th century. Fife has examples of all the main styles of doocots, plus some interesting variations. The earliest purposebuilt structure was the ‘beehive’ style doocot. 16th century Aberdour Castle, restored in the 1990s and in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, is a typical example. This is one of four such Category A listed specimens in Fife, which includes Ravenscraig Castle doocot. Called beehive doocots after their resemblance in shape to old straw beehives, their construction was more redolent of ancient brochs, with massive walls, thick enough to contain the doves’ nesting boxes within them.The ‘beehive’ was superseded by ‘lectern’ in the late 16th century. Typical stone nesting boxes in Denmuir doocot – still in use, by squatters Pitlair House doocot. An unusual tower variant of common lectern-style doocot, it contains a rare surviving wooden ladder, now almost lost.
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