BOOK OF DOVECOTES 



to be found by an examination of the lower por- 

 tion of the walls and of the foundations upon 

 which they stand. These are of stone and are 

 octagonal. It seems possible, therefore, that 

 the monks of the Abbey had an octagonal dove- 

 cote of stone on this same spot; that Richard 

 Prince's builder pulled it down, and rebuilt it 

 in brick, being careful to reproduce a former 

 corbel-table. The point is one on which we 

 may well hesitate to dogmatise, preferring to 

 fall back upon the placid prudence of George 

 Eliot's Old Leisure, — "happy in his inability to 

 know the causes of things, preferring the things 

 themselves. "And certainly between enjoyment 

 of this corbel-table and a learned explanation 

 of its presence few would hesitate to make 

 their choice. 



The lower portion of the wall to which the 

 dovecote joins is old, with many old bricks built 

 into the upper part. Close by is the monks' barn, 

 much modernised, but happily still covered by 

 its ancient roof of stone. 



Only some few degrees less charming than 

 the Whitehall dovecote is the excellent ex- 

 ample to be found at H enley H all, near Ludlow, 

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