No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Witney
Minster Lovell Hall and Dovecote
The ruins of a fifteenth-century manor house by the River Windrush between Burford and Witney, with a round dovecote, free to visit in daylight.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
A free, peaceful ruin by the river, with one of the Cotswolds' best stories attached: the lord who vanished after the battle of Stoke. Read our story of the three dooms first, and walk on to the church and the dovecote.
- Good: Free, open at any reasonable time in daylight
- Good: Dogs on leads welcome
- Worth knowing: No toilets
- Worth knowing: Park at St Kenelm's church; no parking in the lane
- Worth knowing: Uneven ground and deep water by the ruins
- Worth knowing: The dovecote is seen from outside only
About
The ruins of Minster Lovell Hall stand by the River Windrush between Burford and Witney, beside the village church. The house was built in the 1430s by William, Lord Lovell, and its four-storey south-west tower is thought to date from later in the century. Francis Lovell, made a viscount by Richard III, owned it; after the Yorkist defeat at Bosworth in 1485 it passed to the Crown, and in about 1747 most of it was pulled down for building stone. A fifteenth-century round dovecote with a conical roof survives intact about 100 metres to the north-east.
English Heritage keeps the site free and open at any reasonable time in daylight. The dovecote can be seen from outside only. There are no toilets, and the ground is uneven, with deep water close to the walls. Dogs on leads are welcome.
Park at St Kenelm's Church, about five minutes' walk away, where the guidebook is sold; parking is not allowed in the dead-end lane to the hall. TheMinster Lovell, Crawley and the Windrush walk passes the ruins, and our story of the three dooms tells the legend of the lord who disappeared. Minster Mill and the Old Swan are a short walk along the village street.
Opening hours and season
Open at any reasonable time in daylight hours. No smoking, vaping, barbecues, naked flames or climbing on the walls.
Facilities
- Church car parkSmall; at St Kenelm's, about five minutes' walk
- Dogs on leads
- GuidebookSold at St Kenelm's Church
The details
- History
- Built in the 1430s; mostly pulled down in about 1747
- Parking
- Use the small car park at St Kenelm's Church, about five minutes' walk, if there is space. Parking in the narrow dead-end lane to the hall is not allowed, and there is no room to turn.
Photos
The great hall Photo: Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
From the churchyard Photo: No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The porch Photo: No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The ruins across the pool
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Minster Mill
Hotel · Witney
A spa hotel in 65 acres on the River Windrush at Minster Lovell, three miles west of Witney, with a pool, a restaurant and dogs in 32 rooms.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Old Swan
Inn · Witney
A 15th-century pub with rooms at Minster Lovell, sister to Minster Mill, three miles west of Witney, serving food every day from noon to 9pm.
Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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The Bird in Hand
Inn · Witney
A 17th-century country inn with sixteen rooms, two of them accessible, at Whiteoak Green, Hailey, about three miles north of Witney.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Old Swan 0.4 km away
- Minster Mill 0.4 km away
- The White Hart 0.9 km away
- The Bird in Hand 3.2 km away
Sights nearby
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St Kenelm's Church, Minster Lovell
Sight · Church · The Oxfordshire Cotswolds
St Kenelm's is the church beside the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall on the Windrush: rebuilt in the mid fifteenth century, probably by William, Lord Lovell, with a vaulted crossing under its central tower and an alabaster tomb thought to be his. Grade I; open daily.
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Butter Cross, Witney
Sight · Historic building · Witney
The Butter Cross is Witney's open market house in the Market Square, built soon after 1606 on 13 stone pillars, probably round an older cross, with a clock turret and sundial added in 1683 by William Blake of Cogges. Grade II* and scheduled; free to walk under.
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St Mary's Church, Witney
Sight · Church · Witney
St Mary the Virgin is Witney's cross-shaped parish church at the south end of Church Green, rebuilt in the thirteenth century around a central tower and broach spire, with a late Norman porch and a fine fourteenth-century north transept. Grade I; open daily.
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St Mary's Church, Cogges
Sight · Church · Witney
St Mary's at Cogges, across the Windrush from Witney, is a Grade I church of the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries, once shared with a small priory, with an octagonal-topped tower, a chapel frieze of stone musicians and the busts of the Blake family.