NORTHAMPTON 



which caps the ridge. 



Such is the only attempt at ornament on this 

 great dovecote, and the building wouldpresent 

 a somewhat bare and forbidding appearance, 

 had not its old stones "weathered" to a richly- 

 variegated hue, largely due to the growth of 

 many-coloured lichens. 



Each of the two compartments has accom- 

 modation for two thousand pairs of birds. The 

 nests are empty now; but in the spring and 

 summer wild bees make their nests in inter- 

 stices in the walls; while daffodils and snow- 

 drops, springing here and there about the 

 meadow, tell of the old manor garden that has 

 passed away. 



Thedovecote'sbuilderwas, there can be little 

 doubt, the first of several Maurice Treshams 

 known to have existed in the family. He was 

 born in 1530 and came intotheestate when only 

 eight years old. 



The village of Harleston, four miles distant 

 from Northampton on the Rugby road, offers 

 a dovecote very different from the Newton 

 specimen, alike in situation, shape, and size. 

 The village itself is delightful, with its houses 



lOI 



