Down a quiet cul-de-sac a short walk from the centre of Wollaton village lies Wollaton's hidden gem, the 16th century dovecote where you will step into a remarkable building and back into Wollaton history. This is one of the main attractions in Wollaton but remains little known.

Built around 1565 by Sir Francis Willoughby in fine hand-made red brick and original pantile roof, it has his initials in black brick above the main door. This Elizabethan dovecote is one of the oldest buildings in the village and pre-dates the completion of Wollaton Hall; it is also one of the oldest dovecotes in the country. Dovecotes were an important source of food in the winter and were kept by most important people. It originally stood in the middle of a field to prevent the nervous birds being disturbed. (More information on Wollaton Dovecote and its construction can be found further down on this page.)

It continued to be used as a dovecote even after Sir Francis built the 'new' Wollaton Hall in 1588. By the 1880’s it had been converted into stables and three windows, a rear door and a floor had been added. After the sale in 1925 by Lord Middleton of Wollaton Hall and Park, and the wider estate, it began to fall into disrepair; by the 1960’s it was in danger of being demolished. A local campaign ensured its survival and it was restored by the Nottingham Civic Society and re-opened in 1987.

A Grade II listed building, owned by Nottingham City Council, it now houses the Wollaton Village Dovecote Museum. It is open on selected dates in summer months, with volunteers from the Wollaton Historical & Conservation Society putting on a variety of exhibitions.

Wollaton Dovecote is owned by Nottingham City Council and leased by the Wollaton Historical & Conservation Society.

• Opening: See our Events page for details on this year's open days and times.
• Admission: FREE admission and any donations are most welcome (as we receive no funding).
• Groups: The museum welcomes group visits by prior arrangement.
• Location: Dovecote Drive, Nottingham, NG8 2NB. Click the Google Maps link.
• Facilities: There are no toilets in the museum, although there are facilities nearby.
• Safety: Please take care when visiting due to uneven floors and steep stairs.
• Contact: For general enquiries and group bookings please use our Contact form.

Exploring the Dovecote Museum

Volunteers are on hand to guide you and tell you more about the history of Wollaton Dovecote and its restoration.

The stairs off the entrance room are a fire exit, so to progress through the museum please go through the archway (mind the step!) and notice the small door to your right. This is the original oak door which provided the only access for people into the building.

You are now in a replica palour resembling what a ground floor room of a Wollaton labourer's cottage might have looked like; it is dressed with objects and furniture from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.

Whilst you are downstairs in the palour, why not take time to browse the many materials from our research projects. Materials available include:

• Research into the old families of Wollaton and transcriptions of census records.
• Details of those who lived in the Wollaton area who served in the First World War.
• Comprehensive data relating to burials at St Leonard's and Bramcote Lane cemeteries.
• Photograph albums from Russell School and weddings at St. Leonard's Church over many years.
• Results of research into the development of Parkside.

If any materials are not out on display, please ask one of our volunteers for help.

Upstairs are two rooms housing special exhibitions which change annually. (Please take care going up the steep stairs and use the hand-rails on either side.)

Our current and past exhibitions within the Wollaton Village Dovecote Museum include:

• Photographs and plans of Wollaton through the ages.
• The history of the Willoughby family and Wollaton Hall.
• The 100 year anniversary of the sale of the Estate in 1925.
• The story of the 508th American Airbourne at Wollaton Park.
• A selection of Tudor costumes, which were first displayed here in 2018.

We hope you enjoy your visit to the Wollaton Village Dovecote Museum and will come again.

The purpose of the building was purely to provide fresh meat and eggs all year round to the Willoughby household and guests. Sir Francis was one of the wealthiest men in England, and the importance of the building as a status symbol and means of providing fresh meat cannot be overstated and Wollaton Dovecote is a unique and remarkable building.

Originally there would have been no windows, floor or internal walls. Access was from the one door, which now leads to a private garden. The building is 41 ft by 21 ft with a height of 33 ft. It faces south-east to catch the early morning sun. Originally there were approximately 1,180 L-shaped nesting boxes on all four walls, sufficient for over 5,000 birds.

The doves were domesticated descendants of the rock dove, the same size and appearance as the town pigeon of today. They came and went through two glovers, an anglicised French word for 'opening', one centrally placed on the ridge and the other at the eaves. The doves foraged for themselves but, especially in winter, they were given supplementary food such as hard grain or grey peas. There would also be a supply of water and somewhere for them to bathe.

A pair of doves produced two chicks up to eight times a year, often starting a second nest before the first brood flew. From May to September the young birds, called squabs, were a regular source of food. They were usually culled at four weeks before the breast meat was toughened by exercise. Adult birds would be eaten after long, slow cooking and were also supplied to falconers as food for their birds of prey. The feathers and down were used for bed quilts and pillows. The dung was a very valuable fertilizer and a source of saltpetre (potassium nitrate) used for making gunpowder and for tanning leather.

After the sale of the Middleton Estate in 1925 the building fell into disrepair. In 1951 the building was described as 'derelict' and by the 1960's Dovecote Drive was constructed and new houses built. The dovecote was now surrounded by houses and was effectively abandoned, covered in a mass of ivy. This photograph was taken in 1969 after a stable, on the right of it, had just been demolished to make way for a bungalow being built nextdoor.

Restoration of the building was funded by the Nottingham Civic Society and supervised by John Severn and Eddie Woolrich. The official opening ceremony was held on Saturday 18th July 1987. It is from that restoration that the Wollaton Village Dovecote Museum was created.

There would never have been a garden at the dovecote, it is a functional building, surrounded by farmland. Since the 1987 restoration a garden has been created. The garden is popular with visitors.

The Wollaton Dovecote garden first received a prestigious Green Flag award in 2019 recognising the achievement of a national standard for parks and green spaces and has continued to do so every year. The Britain in Bloom It's Your Neighbourhood scheme awarded the garden a Level 4 assessment of "Thriving".