Welcome To Stocks Farm Dovecote
Just outside the pretty Hertfordshire village of Aldbury stands a mid-18th-century dovecote built for nearby Stocks Farm, home of the Duncombe family since 1503. The attractive brick building (also known as the Ashridge Dovecote) was part of the Stocks estate and was built in 1753.
The date is worked into the gable end of the structure in grey brick, contrasting with the red brick that makes up most of the structure.
The builder was Arnold Duncombe, who inherited the Stocks Farm estate when his father John died in 1746. Arnold must have gained a taste for architecture, for shortly after
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Just outside the pretty Hertfordshire village of Aldbury stands a mid-18th-century dovecote built for nearby Stocks Farm, home of the Duncombe family since 1503. The attractive brick building (also known as the Ashridge Dovecote) was part of the Stocks estate and was built in 1753.
The date is worked into the gable end of the structure in grey brick, contrasting with the red brick that makes up most of the structure.
The builder was Arnold Duncombe, who inherited the Stocks Farm estate when his father John died in 1746. Arnold must have gained a taste for architecture, for shortly after finishing the elegant little dovecote he completely rebuilt the family home as a new and fashionable mansion in 1773.
The dovecote is rectangular, measuring 3.88 x 5.68 metres (12.7 x 18.6 feet). The walls are made of brick set on a low stone plinth. One curiosity is that the southern corner (facing Stocks Road) is made with bull-nosed bricks. The National Trust speculates that this may be to avoid damage caused by passing vehicles and horses.
The roof is topped with clay tiles with a weatherboarded turret on top. The turret is modern but probably based on the original 1753 design.
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