Local tradition holds that Sir William Hull commissioned this small square structure in the early 1600s, though today only the faintest traces remain visible in the pasture. The building first appeared on Ordnance Survey maps in 1842, marked simply as ‘Turret’, and by the time surveyors returned for the second edition, only two walls were left standing.

What makes this site particularly intriguing is the oral history passed down through generations of locals, who describe a structure that was once “honeycombed with pigeon holes”. This architectural detail suggests the building may have served as a dovecote, a common feature of landed estates during the period when pigeons were prized both for their meat and their valuable droppings, used as fertiliser. These structures typically featured hundreds of small nesting boxes built into the interior walls, creating the honeycomb effect described by those who remember the building.

Today, visitors to Leamcon won’t find much to see above ground; the turret has left no visible surface trace in the landscape. Yet this absence speaks volumes about Ireland’s vanishing architectural heritage, where countless small structures that once dotted the countryside have gradually returned to the earth, their stories preserved only in old maps, archaeological surveys, and the memories of local communities who still point to empty fields and say, “something once stood there”.