Sibthorpe is located in east Nottinghamshire, 9km south west of Newark and 19.5km north east of Nottingham. The dovecote was part of a monastic or manorial site which occupied the site between the present village of Sibthorpe to the north and the south west – north east flowing Carr Dyke, which forms the southern and eastern boundaries of the site. The excavation was undertaken by workmen using shovels. During the first visit of the watching brief it became clear that a layer up to 0.5m thickness of twigs and dust lifted easily off a more compact earthy layer beneath. It also became apparent that the amount of time required for the work had been greatly underestimated due to the sheer volume of material and the method of its removal. By the second morning of excavation the skip was already full yet less than about 2m2 of floor had been cleared. The watching brief observed the removal of a layer of dry twigs and dust from the interior of the dovecote. The twigs are considered to probably have largely built up during the last phase of use of the dovecote, when they may have been placed there for the doves to select twigs from for nest building. The twigs were removed without causing damage to the underlying floor, which appeared to consist of a fairly uneven surface of irregularly shaped flat stone slabs laid directly on top of soil. Upon this surface was a thin layer of dark brown organic soil. This probably also represents a deposit associated with the use of the dovecote and may represent a thin layer of mud and dung accumulated on the floor during use. The floor surface had been extensively disturbed in places by rabbit burrows, particularly in the area directly opposite the door. The rabbits have damaged the scheduled monument. No evidence regarding the date of construction of the dovecote was found and the only datable artefacts were modern, these being recovered from the upper levels of the twig deposit. The watching brief was successful in monitoring the removal of the twig layer and preventing damage to the intact floor levels beneath. It revealed information about the nature of the archaeology within the dovecote and also demonstrated that animal burrowing has damaged the monument. Additionally, it was noted that stone walls were eroding out of the turf elsewhere in the field within which the dovecote is located and that weeds and scrub are establishing themselves throughout the field. This suggests that the current management of the scheduled monument could be improved to provide greater protection to the buried remains.