BOOK OF DOVECOTES 



the Wye, we shall wind round the wooded 

 height of Dinmore Hill; pass one of Here- 

 fordshire's finest country-houses, Hampton 

 Court; and presently arrive at Bodenham and 

 its bridge. Here, hardly a stone's-throw from 

 the river, stands a dovecote built of brick, octa- 

 gonal in shape. This, too, is an attractive little 

 building — in a farmhouse garden, and beside a 

 flowing stream. 



At Mordiford, four miles east of Hereford, 

 the waters of the Lugg join those of Wye. 

 The village, one of the most charming in the 

 county, lies upon our route to-day; for on the 

 slope behind it is Old Sufton, where there is a 

 dovecote which, although brick-faced, is built 

 of stone. It is circular, but — a rather unusual 

 feature — is topped by an octagonal lantern. On 

 the weather-vane, a double-headed eagle, are 

 the initials I. M., with the date 1764; the cote 

 itself is very obviously of greater age. There 

 is nopotence, and the nest-holes are found only 

 in the upper part. 



Away to the east, some distance behind 

 Mordiford, let us seek out Much Marcle, where, 

 at the house called Hellens, once the home of 

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