The Cotswolds have one of the highest concentrations of dovecotes still in existence in this country and there are more than 20 good examples in Oxfordshire of this historic feature.

When the Friends of the Cotswolds was considering a project for dovecote restoration, it turned to the British Dovecote Society for advice. Society secretary Alan Whitworth set out last summer on a tour of the area to search out the dovecotes and their history.

His search for what he describes as “these Cinderellas of architectural studies” was particularly fruitful in Oxfordshire. They are to be found across the county.

Dovecotes may date from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Mr Whitworth said that pigeon-keeping increased during the Middle Ages but began to decline during the 18th century.

One reason is thought to be the changes in agriculture at that time which meant that it was no longer so necessary for livestock to be slaughtered before the winter, when there would be no food for them. When this had been the practice, pigeons provided a rare source of fresh meat during the winter months.

Pigeons were also valued for their dung. From it was obtained saltpetre, used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Pigeon dung was also considered more beneficial to the soil than that from other sources. A 17th-century lease of a dovecote on an Oxfordshire farm made special mention of the dung produced there.

The association with manor house and estate is reflected in many structures that remain. In the grounds of Kiddington Hall, near Woodstock, is a circular stone dovecote, more than 20 feet in diameter. There are several hundred L-shaped nests, together with alighting ledges. The walls are three-feet thick.

This building contains a potence, which is a revolving structure supporting one or two ladders bracketed from a central shaft and which was used to collect the eggs from all levels by means of easy access.

In West Oxfordshire, at the neighbouring villages of Northmoor and Stanton Harcourt, the locations of the dovecotes are illustrations of the links with the church, for they stand respectively at Rectory Farm and Parsonage House.

That at Northmoor is one that has recently undergone restoration work — and work of a very high standard, for it was short-listed for a design award by the Royal Institute of British Architects, for which other schemes to reach the final stages included projects at Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle, near Newbury and Odiham Castle in Hampshire.

Work on this dovecote was part of a larger scheme, which also included the complete restoration of a granary “The roof of the dovecote was pretty bad, the whole roof had to be stripped off and the cupola completely replaced,” said Robert Florey, of Rectory Farm.

“Quite a number of the timbers inside had to be renewed, as the weather had got in and quite a lot of the boards outside were replaced. The nest-boxes were all taken out and then put back in place afterwards.”

A feature of this dovecote is that an old village track, a green lane, runs through its open arches.

Other villages to which Mr Whitworth’s itinerary took him included Marcham, where a good restored example of a circular dovecote can be seen in the main street and where there is also another of a square shape. Minster Lovell, Kelmscott, Ipsden and Stadhampton also provided him with locations to visit.