BOOK OF DOVECOTES 



a former monk of Evesham, who was vicar of 

 Littleton throughout the reigns of Edward 

 and Mary, and for some time after the acces- 

 sion of Elizabeth, that he should provide the 

 books, receiving in return the profit accruing 

 from the steeple pigeons. 1 1 was a compromise 

 which relieved the Littletonians from imme- 

 diate embarrassment, and doubtless proved of 

 ultimate profit to their vicar. To other cases 

 where pigeons were housed in the tower, and 

 even inotherparts of churches, further allusion 

 will be made. 



Higher in proportion to its size, with much 

 thicker walls and a general appearance of 

 greater antiquity than the Littleton dovecote, 

 is the circular example at Comberton, near 

 Pershore. It is about seventy feet in circum- 

 ference, and the walls are three feet seven 

 inches thick. Built of grey stone, it is sup- 

 ported by three staged buttresses, and entered 

 by a small round-headed doorway. The pot- 

 ence, if once present, has now disappeared; 

 but nest-holes to the number of more than 

 five hundred remain, some being still occupied 

 by pigeons. The roof is crowned by a small 

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