It is a belvedere, a term that simply means a structure built to command a view, and this one would have done exactly that, looking out over the wide sweep of Courtmacsherry Bay. What survives today is only the northern portion of the structure, forming three sides of what was once a full octagon, with the central section stepped slightly back. A string course, a narrow horizontal band of masonry running along the exterior wall, marks the division between the ground and first floors, a detail that speaks to the deliberate finish given to even a relatively modest ornamental building.

Belvederes of this kind were a feature of designed landscapes attached to Georgian and Victorian country houses, serving both as eye-catchers when seen from the house and as destinations for walks across the grounds. They were rarely purely practical; the point was the experience of arriving somewhere elevated, of framing a view that the surrounding landscape alone could not offer. The association here with Courtmacsherry House suggests a designed demesne that made deliberate use of the high ground to the east, placing this tower where it could be seen and where its occupants could see out across the water.