Farmer who deliberately destroyed Grade II listed 17th century dovecote gets £45k court bill
A farmer has been told to pay more than £45,000 for knocking down a Grade II listed building in what has been branded 'one of the worst examples of deliberate damage and destruction to a listed building in the county'.
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Philip Terence Gore knocked down the listed building on Lower Newton Farm in Newton, near Yockleton, after storms in 2022 damaged the one-storey brick bird loft “beyond repair”.
Kidderminster Magistrates Court was told on Tuesday that the case was brought against the 49-year-old farmer by Shropshire Council who discovered the building had been demolished in March 2022.
The court heard that on an unknown day after the storms of 2022, Mr Gore took a digger bucket to the dovecote that had fallen into disrepair, despite knowing it had been listed in 1986. He had planned to replace it with a new grain store but the court heard that project had now been shelved.
The Grade II listed dovecote, which was built in the late 17th century and was historically used to house pigeons and doves, was situated around 50 metres from the farmhouse where Mr Gore had lived most of his life.
According to Historic England the dovecote was listed in 1986 and was constructed in red brick with a “dentilled eaves cornice”, a tile roof with “crow-stepped gables”, and consisted of one storey with a loft.
Mr Chris Hawley, prosecuting on behalf of Shropshire Council, told the court: “He was required to get permission, whether it was for demolition or otherwise.
