Description: Sadly, there are no remains left of Barton's old Manor House - other than parts of the stable (now converted into a farmhouse), along with a portion of its estate walls. Even the Sacheverell Coat of arms, which was fixed upside down on a stone buttress outside the Forge, is no longer legible, but fortunately the old dovecote still stands. In the Middle Ages, and later, the right to keep pigeons and build cotes was a prerogative of the Lords of the Manor. The pigeons were both a means of sustenance and a source of income for them. However, this reservation was a sad injustice to their feudal inferiors, who had to endure watching their crops raided daily by the numerous birds but were unable to protect them, for the shooting of pigeons was an offence that carried severe penalties, and in certain circumstances was punishable by death. The Barton cote stands in the yard of Manor Farm and is a very attractive and historic listed building. It is octagonal and built of small red bricks which stand on a few feet of stone above the ground. It is sixteen feet high to the top of the walls, and there are two stringcourses, one about twelve feet up, the other just under the roof. It measures 82 feet in girth, and the walls are 2 feet 6 inches wide. The nesting places are of plaster, start on a brick foundation and number 1200. The entrance is through a glover at the top, and there was a cord to close it up when pigeons were to be caught. On the south side was a plaster coat of arms, probably of the Sacheverell family, and whilst it was being restored in 1980 the interior of one nesting box revealed the inscription '1677 W.S.', so no doubt it was William Sacheverell who had this pretty and interesting cote built. (information from Barton in Fabis Parish Council website)