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Summary

Description

Dated 1771, a doocot constructed in red brick with an eight-sided base and a rounded upper stage with '1771' in raised brickwork above the former entrance (blocked-up sometime after 1971). There is a cogged (zig-zag) brick string course/rat course between the two stages and a dentilled course with regularly-spaced flight holes (two brick widths wide) around the base of the roof eaves. Some lower sections of the doocot have been part-rendered with concrete and lines scored into it to resemble bricks. There is also some raised pointing to the lower brickwork, possibly from historic repair work. The doocot is sited on a ridge to the west of the stable block and house on the edge of mature woodland.

The doocot has a bell-cast roof which is partially covered in slates. Overhanging tree branches have formed a hole in the roof and there is ivy and vegetation growth on the brickwork and around the base. There are small holes in the walls of the doocot above the rat course (these are uniformly sized and appear on historic images), others are later and are caused by damage to the wall.

The interior (viewed from the holes) shows timber floor joists and blocked-up pigeonholes (2024).

Historical development

Treesbank was historically owned by the Campbells of Cessnock and their descendants (New Statistical Account, p.610). The current listed building record for Treesbank House notes the earlier mansion dated from 1672 (the current house dates from 1926). The estate is shown on Roy's map of 1752-55 as a sizeable country estate comprising a house and designed landscape. It is labelled on this map as Treesbarnes or Burnbank.

The Buildings of Scotland describes the stables as dating to around 1770 with later alterations and the doocot as being designed in an unusual octagonal plan, dated 1771 (Close and Riches, p.461). The New Statistical Account of 1845 notes the Campbells of Treesbank remain one of the principal landowning families of the parish and the estate is described as having beautiful grounds and views (pp.609-10).

The doocot, stables and the earlier mansion house are first shown in detail on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857. The dooecot is shown on the 25-inch 1^st, 2^nd and later Edition Ordnance Survey maps.

The previous listed building record for the doocot (dating from 1971) notes the interior was used as a store at the time of listing. This suggests the entrance door was blocked up sometime after 1971. In 1975 the estate was bought by Glasgow Trades Council and became a recreational education centre for the trade union movement in Scotland, developed alongside The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) (Kilmarnock Standard).

The STUC sold the estate in the 1990s. The estate is now privately owned and there are proposals for housing development on the northeastern part of the estate (2025).

Statement of Special Interest

The doocot at Treesbank is a prominent feature in the landscape and retains its unusual brick construction and octagonal plan form, flight holes and much of its bellcast slate roof. The design and siting of the doocot on a ridge suggest it was intended to be prominent in the wider landscape. Mature trees in the grounds of Treesbank House screen the doocot from many directions, however there are glimpsed longer views from the northeast, for example from the B7038 Ayr Road.

Doocots are prolific building types that can be found across Scotland. These structures were often among the most architecturally elaborate buildings on an estate, designed to reflect the wealth of the owner. The scale and design quality of the stables at Treesbank reflects the wealth and status of the Campbell family.

Dovecotes, doocots or pigeon houses, were usually built to bespoke designs by craftsmen and occupied prominent positions near to the main house. Their survival helps us to understand what everyday life on a landed estate was like for the owners and inhabitants. They provided a source of food, feathers and manure as well as a built display of social status. The doocot at Treesbank is of interest for its late-18^th century date, its octagonal plan form and the unusual use of brick as a construction material.

While changes have been made to the fabric of the doocot over time, these are minimal and, importantly, they have not adversely affected the historic character of the building overall and our ability to understand its functions within the wider estate landscape.

Listed building record revised in 2025.

References

Bibliography

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