Tower, Springhill, Springhill Road, Moneymore, Magherafelt, Co Londonderry

This is a substantial late 18th-century folly, built in the Gothick style and adapted from an earlier tower. It forms a prominent feature within the designed landscape, intended to be viewed from a staircase window in the main house, framed by a beech tree avenue.

The tower is circular and of two stages, without a roof and topped with crenellations. It is built of stone with brick detailing. Segmental brick arches are present on the south-east and north-west sides, with a large pointed brick arch repeated on the south-west, north-east and south-east aspects. The external walls are of random rubble stonework. The tower is positioned on the south-east axis of the main house, aligned with a beech walk that originally extended from the ha-ha to the tower, though many of the mature beech trees were lost in the early 1960s and have been replaced. A significant number of mature trees and new planting surround the tower, with a gate providing access to adjoining fields. A stone bearing the date 1731 is set into the north side of the tower. The tower provides a good view of the house.

The tower does not appear on estate maps from 1722. The stone plaque dated 1731 is presumed to relate to this structure. Although some have claimed the tower served as a windmill, there is no evidence to support this, and there are no associated structures or obvious access points for commercial traffic that would be expected for a mill. It is likely that the tower was designed from the outset as an eye-catcher, positioned at the end of the Beech Avenue, which was originally planted around 1700. The Gothick architectural features are probably a later addition, dating from the 1790s, when the tower may have served as a banqueting house and lookout point.