Cadoxton Court and Dovecote

Have you ever wondered what the unusually shaped building perched on the edge of the steep precipice on Gladstone Road is?  You probably have, and you are not the only person who has been intrigued by this odd-looking construction. This curious building is a dovecote or columbarium and dates to the medieval period making it one of the very few medieval buildings from the Barry area to survive into the twenty first century intact. 

This ancient structure, which is located within the private grounds of Cadoxton Court, was built to provide birds with a comfortable place to nest, which in turn provided their owner with a convenient and fresh supply of eggs, meat and feathers - a convenience that only the well-off could afford. The dovecote was constructed during the thirteenth century and is one of only two which survive wholly intact within the Vale of Glamorgan. Supported by four slender buttresses, the dovecote is entered via a small single Gothic archway entrance to reveal an interior which contains hundreds of small niches for birds to nest. 

                                 (Mid twentieth century view of Cadoxton Court dovecote)

The dovecote at Cadoxton is the sole surviving remnant of a medieval manorial complex which once occupied the site of the present Cadoxton Court and was for centuries home to the lords of Cadoxton. This manorial complex has all but vanished with only the dovecote left to remind us that it once existed at all. 

The landscape around Cadoxton Court would have looked vastly different during the medieval period; in fact, the Cadoxton area was almost entirely rural until fairly recently. The land surrounding Cadoxton Court was drastically altered during the late nineteenth century when quarrying activities were responsible for the appearance of the steep precipice adjacent to the dovecote. At around the same time when Barry Docks was constructed, a multitude of Victorian terraced houses were built obliterating much of the green landscape surrounding Cadoxton. The small parcels of land which escaped the initial development were gradually enveloped by piecemeal constructions during the twentieth century. The march of progress it seems left the medieval dovecote at Cadoxton Court in vastly changed environs, surrounded by a modern-fast-paced world. 

(Photograph dating to the early twentieth century showing the extent of the development surrounding Cadoxton Court)

Cadoxton, or East Barry as it was initially known, was founded sometime during the early-mid twelfth century by a family named Mitdehorguil as a sub-enfeoffed manor or fief (fee) of the lordship of Dinas Powys. The only surviving remnant from this period is a Norman font which is to be found within the nearby medieval church of St Cadoc. 

Cadoxton manor was held at one knight’s fee meaning that the lord of Cadoxton was obliged to provide his overlord, the lord of Glamorgan, with a number of feudal duties in exchange for his tenure. In times of peace this included attending the comitatus (county court) at Cardiff Castle, and guard duties, once again usually at Cardiff Castle, although later on in the medieval period this practice was substituted for an annual cash payment of 6 shillings per fee called ward silver. In times of war however, the lord of Cadoxton was obliged to don his hauberk, coif and helm and fight his lord’s, or his king’s, battles which could have lead him anywhere in Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland or France.

(Late nineteenth/early twentieth century view of Cadoxton as a rural village with the church of St Cadoc within the centre)

The manor of Cadoxton was a valuable land holding initially consisting of 2000 acres and was intended to provide its knightly incumbent with everything that he would need in order to fulfil his feudal duties. The lord of Cadoxton extracted everything that he required from his fief keeping the best tracts of land for his own demesne, the woods and animals which dwelt within exclusively for himself, and claiming innumerable rights over the common serfs (peasants) who inhabited Cadoxton village. 

The lord of Cadoxton would have lived a comfortable life within his manor complex which by the late thirteenth century would probably have consisted of a handsome stone-built residence with various outbuildings including the thirteenth century dovecote. 

The Mitdehorguil's however were not in possession of the fee of Cadoxton for long as by the late twelfth century their male line became extinct. The daughter of the last mitdehorguil lord, one Milisant Mitdehorguil, married her overlord Adam de Sumeri, Lord of Dinas Powys, who then took over the tenue of the manor of Cadoxton. By the late fourteenth century, a family called Andrew had acquired the manor of Cadoxton. The Andrew family were to retain possession of Cadoxton for centuries to come.

     (The remains of Dinas Powys castle, the seat of the Lord of Cadoxton's immediate overlord)

It is likely that Cadoxton Court was either subject to major alterations or was totally rebuilt during the Andrew’s tenure as the various building fragments which have been recovered over the years seemingly point towards a fifteenth to sixteenth century date for the former Cadoxton Court manor house. These architectural dressed stone fragments include parts of mullioned windows and door jambs, some of which have been incorporated into several of the outbuildings within Cadoxton Court. The late medieval manor house was a fairly substantial structure containing at least four hearths making it a suitable residence for a member of the minor gentry.  

Cadoxton Court is mentioned in numerous documents from this period such as the Beauchamp survey of 1429. A deed dating to 1545 makes reference to a ‘little tower’ and ‘a mill’ which were located on the west side of ‘Courte Hille’. Between the years 1628 and 1631 Nicholas Andrew of Cadoxton Court sold a total of 700 acres of land to William Herbert of Cogan Pill and Edmund Thomas of Wenvoe Castle; an indication perhaps of financial difficulties. The Andrew’s were still in possession of Cadoxton Court by the time of the Hearth Tax Assessment of 1670 with Cadoxton Court being occupied by one William Andrew. It seems however that during the eighteenth century Cadoxton Court was abandoned. 

The sustained occupation of Cadoxton Court for much of the post-medieval period is perhaps the reason why the dovecote has remained unmolested, unlike the example located at Cosmeston which has been robbed of its stone. By the year 1811 Cadoxton Court was ruinous-being described as ‘the remains of a fine old castle’. Cadoxton Court was further described in the year 1866 as the ‘extensive ruins of a castled mansion’.

                                                      (The remains of the dovecote at Cosmeston)

The present house at Cadoxton Court was built in 1873 by the Rev John Hughes alongside the ruins of the original manor complex. During the Victorian era a romance of the medieval period was fashionable amongst the middle and upper classes with the still extant ruins of Cadoxton Court and its dovecote helping to provide genuine medieval antecedents and an air of authenticity to the Rev John’s newly built quasi-medieval Gothic style mansion. These ruins, parts of which were fairly substantial, were still in existence until the late nineteenth century when they were sadly demolished to make way for a formal garden. Recent archaeological excavations undertaken by archaeologist Gareth Tyley at Cadoxton Court have revealed the foundations of several buildings ranging in date from the thirteenth through to the seventeenth centuries with finds including pottery, a whetstone and two iron knives.

                     (Cadoxton Court and dovecote during the mid twentieth century)

The unsentimental destruction of medieval buildings in the pursuit of a romanticized facsimile, or just as frequently-a better view of the surrounding landscape, was sadly quite common amongst members of the upper and middle classes during the preceding centuries. Cardiff Castle for example, saw large sections of the outer bailey of its Norman keep, cross wall, medieval shire house and knights hall demolished during the late eighteenth century on the advice of the much-vaunted Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. This was done so that the fourth earl of Bute might have a better view of his garden, a price he felt was worth paying. A large section of the medieval circuit wall at Ewenny Priory also suffered much the same fate during the early nineteenth century.

A persistent local rumour regarding Cadoxton Court is that a hidden tunnel exists between the former manor house and Sully Island. This tunnel is said to have been dug during the eighteenth century by smugglers. Smuggling was rife along the coastline of South Wales during the eighteenth century with many of the exploits of the smugglers persisting as local legend long after smuggling had ceased. Perhaps the ruins of the medieval and post medieval buildings at Cadoxton Court provided a convenient location for smugglers to temporarily store their contraband and this association has been embellished over time, and incorporated into local folklore to include a smugglers tunnel.

It is very unlikely that a tunnel from Cadoxton Court to Sully Island exits. An explanation put forth by Gareth Tyley suggests that the tunnel myth could have been derived from the fact that during 1882 a fight of stone steps was accidentally discovered at Cadoxton Court. These steps, which most likely lead down to a cellar, were not explored-perhaps because access was restricted due to the cellar being filled with earth and building debris, but also perhaps because the owners, quite sensibly, most likely considered it to be unsafe to enter. The steps were filled in shortly after they were discovered and are presumably still within the vicinity of the house.

              (View of Cadoxton Court dovecote from Gladstone Road-RCAHMW)

The dovecote at Cadoxton Court is a grade one listed monument but is not accessible to the public. If one however wishes to see another example of a medieval dovecote in all its complete glory up close, a near identical structure exists at Llantwit Major. 

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2018

The right of Jonathan and Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic means, including social media, or mechanical, or by any other means including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.