Hygga House Dovecote, Trellech Explained

Hygga House Dovecote
Type:Dovecote
Map Relief:yes
Coordinates:51.7292°N -2.7462°W
Location:Hygga, Trellech, Monmouthshire, Wales
Built:late 16th century
Architecture:Vernacular
Governing Body:Privately owned
Designation1:Grade II* listed building
Designation1 Offname:Dovecote at Hygga House
Designation1 Date:1 May 1952
Designation1 Number:2071
Designation2:Scheduled monument
Designation2 Offname:Dovecote at Hygga Farm
Designation2 Number:MM150

The Dovecote, Hygga, Trellech, Monmouthshire is a late 16th-century dovecote, in an unusually complete state of preservation. Part of the service buildings for the, now demolished, Hygga House, the dovecote is a Grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument.

History and description

The origin of the name Hygga is Old Norse, meaning "to comfort".[1] In the 16th century, a substantial mansion, Hygga House, stood on the site but it has since been demolished. The dovecote, along with a large barn and a shippon and stables, comprised a range of service buildings for the house. In a poor state of repair for over two centuries, the dovecote was fully restored in the 1980s and now forms a rare example of a complete 16th-century dovecote. Sir Cyril Fox and Lord Raglan, in their three-volume guide Monmouthshire Houses, note the rarity of such dovecotes within the county, citing one at Llantellen, Skenfrith as the only other known example. In his study, A Book of Dovecotes published in 1920, Arthur Owens Cooke in fact noted three; at Court Farm, Llanvair Discoed; at St Pierre; and at Llanthony Priory; but does not record Hygga. The architectural historian John Newman gives a dating for the dovecote, and the associated barns, of c.1600.

The dovecote is constructed of lime-washed stone rubble, with a "stone-slated conical roof". Unusually for a dovecote, it has windows with ovolo mullions. Above the windows are six tiers of nesting boxes, set into the wall. The dovecote is a Scheduled monument, and a Grade II* listed building, its listing recording the dovecote as a "particularly fine and complete example".

Sources

. John Newman (architectural historian). The Buildings of Wales. Gwent/Monmouthshire. 2000. Penguin. London. 0-14-071053-1.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hygge: A heart-warming lesson from Denmark. Justin. Parkinson. 2 October 2015. BBC News.