[2] Architectural historian Lydia Greeves suggests that the building was once within the deerpark of Bruton Abbey and was adapted by the monks from a gabled Tudor tower.

[5] However, John and Pamela McCann, authors of The Dovecotes of Historical Somerset, claim that the structure was not built until after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.

The authors claim that the Berkley family, who acquired the lands of the Abbey, constructed the building as a prospect tower.

[6] Dendrochronological dating commissioned by the National Trust found that timber in the door and window frames came from trees felled between 1554 and 1586.

[11] In 2010 restoration work was undertaken including repairs to the tops of the walls; these are exposed as the building no longer has a roof.

[16] The square tower was built of local coursed oolitic limestone with Doulting stone dressings.

The walls are 2 feet 8 inches (0.81 m) thick at the base,[6] and the tower is 6 square metres (65 sq ft) in plan.