Survey sighting tower, Brackenagh West Rd, Ballymartin, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34

This sighting tower is of historical interest as it relates to the initial phase of the Mourne Scheme, representing a rare survival of late 19th-century surveying practices. Constructed between 1880 and 1899, the tower is made of shuttered concrete, notable for its inclusion of beach pebbles within the aggregate. It is a tapered structure of square cross-section, standing 3.35 metres high overall on a 1.37-metre square base, which itself is 1.07 metres high. Two threaded lugs are present at the top.

The tower functioned as an object pillar in the alignment of the Breckanagh Tunnel, part of the Belfast City & District Water Commissioners’ Mourne Scheme intended to supply water to Belfast. The tunnel, built by Messrs Fisher and Le Fanu, runs along the water conduit from the Kilkeel River (Silent Valley) to Dunnywater, and was completed in 1903 after significant challenges. This tower is one of five object pillars along this tunnel’s route, and the only known survivor. Access to the top was originally via a temporary wooden ladder.

Near the tower is a wrought-iron gate of standard Belfast Water Commissioners’ design, providing access to an adjacent field. It is considered to be of industrial archaeological interest. Records from the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) – WAT 1/3CG/3 and WAT 1/3CG/7 (BCDWC Minutes) and a drawing from the Department of the Environment Water Service (3A21.45) document the tower’s construction and purpose.