Just 2.4 metres in diameter and rising to about five metres, it was built for appearance rather than occupation, a folly designed to be seen rather than lived in. Roofless now, its embattled parapet wall, the crenellated topping borrowed from medieval fortification, gives it the silhouette of something much older and grander than it actually is.

A belvedere of this kind was a common feature of the designed landscapes that surrounded Georgian and early Victorian country houses in Ireland. The idea was to give the grounds a sense of depth and incident, a small architectural surprise placed where a visitor arriving at the estate would catch a glimpse of it. This particular tower was substantial enough to merit a name on the Ordnance Survey six-inch map of 1842, where it appears simply as "Turret". Built in brick rather than the dressed stone more typical of grander estate follies, it has two floors, each with a window, and a doorway at ground level, suggesting it was at least occasionally entered, perhaps used as a gate lodge feature or a viewing platform before the parapet fell into disrepair.