Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

COLINTON ROAD, MERCHISTON CASTLE SCHOOL, DOVECOTLB28133

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Group Category Details
100000020 - (see NOTES)
Date Added
14/07/1966
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 21724 69086
Coordinates
321724, 669086

Description

Probably 17th century. Single chamber, rectangular-plan, gabled dovecot with low, arched entrance to E gable. Random rubble with long and short quoins. Stringcourse; remains of eaves course. Interior with stone nesting boxes to all walls. Formerly crowstepped but walls now ruinous and heavily overgrown. Roofless.

Statement of Special Interest

B-Group with Colinton Castle, Ha-Ha, Gibson House (formerly Colinton House), Stables, House at Walled Garden, Walled Garden, Garden Store, Main School Building, Chalmers and Rogerson Houses, Headmaster's House, South Lodge, Gatepiers and Boundary wall. This was the dovecot for Colinton Castle, and it now stands buried in a near-impenetrable wood to the West of the walled garden. The gabled design of this dovecot makes it quite unusual (the lectern-style was more common), and it probably dates from the early 17th century, although Niven Robertson dates it to the 16th century. The castle was altered and enlarged at the beginning of the 17th century, and it is likely that the dovecot was built at the same time. According to Niven Robertson, this dovecot was crowstepped and had 695 nesting boxes. The roof was of stone slabs, and the pigeons probably entered through a dormer window. Its dimensions are given as 23ft 5? inches by18ft 8? inches, with walls 3ft 5? inches thick. The only other gabled dovecot in the Edinburgh area is on the Malleny Estate at Balerno, and dates from the earlier 18th century.

References

Bibliography

Appears on 1855 OS map. Book of the Old Edinburgh Club, Vol XXV (1945), DOVECOTES IN AND AROUND EDINBURGH by A Niven Robertson, pp146-203, particularly p184. E J Macrae, THE HERITAGE OF GREATER EDINBURGH (1947), p12 and p36. Tim Buxbaum, SCOTTISH DOOCOTS (Shire Publications), for general information on Dovecots.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 17/05/2024 01:21