Besanceuil Dovecote

We first saw this pigeonnier (dovecote) when visiting Besanceuil last week to look at the 11th to 14th century Chateau and the picturesque village.

photo by Dave Harcourt
(Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

What was fascinating was the background. Only aristocrats were allowed to keep pigoens and the number was related to their wealth. Pigeons were used for food as well as feathers and their droppings for fertiliser. While the aristocrats loved the system it was often the peasants grain the pigeons were eating - so there was strong opposition. It is thought that this opposition may have eventually lead to the end of pigeon farming.

Going back to Besanceuil a few days ago to buy local produce, gave us the chance to see inside the loft. The photo below is a shot looking up to wards the top center of the building.

photo by Dave Harcourt
(Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

The nests are formed in an inner wall using the shaped stone commonly used for building in the area - around 1 200 nests in this case. The vertical beam holds the ladder, shown against the nesting holes to the right of the picture. The ladder rotates around the vertical beam giving access to all the nests.

All there and ready to start operating tomorrow, after all these years. An amazing disused structure and tool unnoticed in the Burgundy countryside!