Willington Dovecote & Stables
I visited here a few weeks ago and just photographed the exteriors because at that time I didn’t know that access to the interiors was available. It is a National Trust property with free access. When looking at the National Trust app some days later I found out at that the buildings were open on the afternoon of the last Sunday in the month through the summer. So last Sunday we took a trip there and it was surprisingly busy. Well, much busier than my first trip, my car was the only one there then.
The above pictures are of the Stables building and the first picture shows the stables position relative to the Dovecote in the background.The fireplace has a little frame above it encasing a bit of graffiti allegedly by John Bunyan in 1650. It was John Bunyan who wrote ‘The Pilgrims Progress’, and he lived in Bedford so it’s possible.
The roof timbers were amazing and in such good condition. You can still see the carpenters markings. All the interior pictures are of or from the Hayloft which is above the stables
Above is the Dovecote, you can see the nest boxes around the walls. The birds accessed them from the eaves of the of the building. They are blocked off now to keep the pigeons out.
More excellent carpentry on display in the ceiling. Not much else to see there. just a soil floor with evidence that some birds have managed to get in !