Dove-houses

Dove-houses - The right to have a dove-house, or culver-house (from culver, an old word for pigeon) was a manorial right, very oppressive to the lord's neighbors, from damage done to their crops. In An Alphabet of Tales [ed. M. M. Banks, E.E.T.S. 1904) there is a quaint tale illustrative of the feeling against pigeon-houses. The passion for hawking largely explains their existence. Accordingly, the dove-house is often separately mentioned in the conveyance of an estate.