Northfield House Doocot, Prestonpans

After a short visit to the allotment I headed down to Prestonpans for a family visit.  

This beehive doocot (dovecot) with about 600 stone nests dates from the late 16th / early 17th century.  It's an A listed building restored by the National Trust for Scotland in the 1970s and stands in what were the grounds of Northfield House (the white house on the left).  From the odour coming from the doocot I'm fairly sure it's still in use!

In Scotland, the earliest surviving doocots were built in the 16th century and were a standard feature of landed estates.  Pigeons provided a year round supply of meat and eggs.  The droppings were used for fertiliser and in processes like leather tanning and cloth dyeing.