Carron House Doocot, Carronshore.
There's no definite date for this, but the house was built in 1779, it's only natural that the doocot would have been around the same time, the Buildings at Risk web site says 18th century but I question that as there are a lot of bricks lying around each bearing the name Callendar, further investigation online tells me that the Callendar Brick And Fireclay Works did not exist until after 1820.
The Docoot sits near the River Carron, very close to the new footbridge, in Abbotshaugh Community Woodlands, Falkirk which I will cover in another post.
Carronshore was once a bustling port, importing and exporting goods to and from the Carron ironworks. In the mid to late 18th century, Carronshore boasted a dry dock and cranes at its harbour.
The river itself is a lot quieter nowadays, I've walked about it a wee bit further east a few times and have not seen any traffic at all, there is a lock connecting it to the Forth & Clyde Canal at The Kelpies but having visited it countless times I have never seen a boat use the lock there. The Carron is a tidal river and I am not keen on them, they look great when in full flow at high tide, but when the tide is oot rivers like this look a muddy mess, and The Carron is no different. I did take a few pics of it, I will get round to posting them in the next few days. It empties into the Forth near Grangemouth.
Right, the doocot, or as the English would say, The Dovecot. Basically it is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves, they were common for large houses and castles at the time, and were if possible, built by the river to supply the house with pigeon meat and indeed Dove meat!. This one has been termed a pavilion type octagonal brick dovecot is fairly unusual. It's in a bit of a state now, roofless and damaged by vandals but it's category B listed building by Historic Scotland. B listed means it is of regional or local importance, a major example of a particular style or period, the thing is if it is in private hands and of no use to the property owners B listed buildings are often left to rot, the doocot here is a prime example.
The are around this wee building was once a park called Dovecot Park and was used by among others by Carronshore Sunday School for their sports days.
I particularly like the wee windows, described as oeil-de-boef, it seems a previous visitor also likes them and decided to show his appreciation by adorning it with his name- well done Roy!
It's not just Roy though, there is a lot of graffiti and the structure is in a dilapidated stated, years of neglect taking it's toll. Inside many of the pigeonholes where the birds once enjoyed nesting have disappeared. There is a pile of wood in the middle, some charred, and the usual debris of empty cider cans and one of "Dragon Soup"
