The present dovecote dates from the 14th century when it was built by the Knights Hospitaller. Documentary and build evidence suggests that this was a reconstruction of an earlier building erected by the Knights Templar. The Templars had established a preceptory at Garway in the 12th century.[a][3] The Church of St Michael, which stands adjacent to the dovecote, was originally the principal building of the preceptory site.[4] The Friends of Garway Church society gives a build date for the dovecote of 1326.[b][5] The dovecote is circular and constructed of sandstonerubble with a flattened conical roof. The interior holds 19 rows of nesting boxes.[c][6] The pigeons kept within the structure provided a source of meat, and their droppings were used as fertilizer.[7] In his study, A Book of Dovecotes published in 1920, Arthur Owens Cooke described the Garway dovecote at unusual length owing to its "its undoubted age [and] the excellence of its workmanship".[8] The Friends' website describes Garway as "the finest medievaldovecote in England",[1] a view supported by Alfred Watkins in his study, Pigeon Houses of Herefordshire and Gower.[9] It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.[6][10]
Gallery
Illustration from the Archaeological Journal, 1845
^Following the suppression of the Order in 1307, the Templars' lands, including the Garway estate, were given to their rivals, the Knights Hospitaller.[2]
^The Friends of Garway Church society indicate that an inscription above the doorway gave the date of 1326, and was deciphered in the 19th century by the Reverend John Webb.[5]Historic England's listing record notes that the inscription is now illegible.[6]
