Built in 1622 for Sir William Parsons, who served as Surveyor General of Ireland, the square tower rises two storeys high and features a battlemented parapet typical of the period. The structure measures 6.3 metres on each side with walls roughly 0.6 metres thick; relatively thin for a defensive building, suggesting it relied more on firepower than fortification for protection.

The ground floor is dominated by an off-centre elliptical archway that provided the main entrance to the manor grounds. Just south of this passage, a small chamber served as a guard post, complete with two narrow slit loops for observation and a gun loop in the north wall for active defence. Above, the first floor chamber was somewhat more comfortable, featuring a fireplace in the northwest corner and larger windows on the east and west walls, with smaller openings to the north and south. Originally accessed by a staircase, now lost, this upper room likely housed the gatekeeper or served as additional accommodation.

What makes this gatehouse particularly interesting is its apparent emphasis on firearms over traditional medieval defences. Unlike the thick-walled castles of earlier centuries, this structure represents a transitional period in Irish fortification, when gun loops were becoming the primary means of defence. The boundary wall that runs up to the tower’s southeast corner isn’t bonded to it, indicating possible phases of construction or later additions to the manor’s perimeter defences. Today, the building stands as a reminder of the Protestant Ascendancy’s early years in Ireland, when even civilian administrators like Parsons felt the need for fortified residences.