Once doocots (dovecots) were common in Scotland near large houses and there are still many in the locality.  They were used for sheltering pigeons which would roost in little nesting boxes inside and some contained 2000 birds.   Their purpose was to provide the landlord with fresh meat and eggs, especially during winter when other meat was often hard to find and they also provided large quantities of droppings for use either as fertiliser or in the making of lime mortar.  As the pigeons foraged for food and could decimate crops in the fields they were unpopular with the tenants and eventually when meat markets became common, doocots ceased to be built except as status symbols.
Doocots were often whitewashed because white was supposed to attract pigeons and one such stands conspicuously in a field near Whitburgh House.  II is a circular “beehive” style with a slated cone roof and capped by a lantern shape with two entrance holes whereas most are the “lectern“ style with a pitched roof.  Sometimes we have seen over a dozen pigeons flying into the doocot but only a few were there today and possibly most of the nesting holes are blocked up as the pigeons are no longer needed but it is probably a reminder of the status of its former owners.