Garden turret at Red Hall, Ballycarry, Larne, Co Antrim

This is a High Victorian Gothic garden turret, likely built between 1860 and 1879. It forms an unusual and picturesque feature within the grounds of Red Hall, particularly when viewed with the adjacent Georgian stone gate piers.

The turret is small and circular, with a conical roof. It has a pointed Gothic-arched doorway and a small window on each side. The construction is of basalt rubble, with a noticeable inward slope to the base. A blank stone panel projects above the doorway. The conical roof has swept eaves supported by projecting shaped rafters, covered with slate in alternating bands of regular courses and a fish-scale pattern; the roof is now in a derelict condition, with most slates missing and the woodwork at the entrance rotted. The windows lack frames and glazing.

The turret is located within the grounds of Red Hall, at the end of a driveway approaching from the south that connects to the main entrance driveway from the east. A pair of white limestone gate piers, which are no longer functional, stand adjacent to the turret. The setting is secluded, surrounded by mature trees.

The turret was built in association with Red Hall and does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps or in an engraved view of Red Hall dating to 1869, which does show the adjacent piers. It was likely built by John McAuley, who purchased the estate in 1869, and probably dates from the early to mid-1870s. It may have originally served as a gate-keeper’s lodge associated with an internal gateway on the estate. The structure lies within the area of a scheduled monument, no. ANT47:4.