GARRON TOWER 3755
Being the Prime Minister, Sir Winston had no time for Garron Tower so it was donated to the British Tourist Industry which transformed it into a hotel; it was then devastated by fire and was later turned into a school which it still is today. The main portion of the estate remained in the hands of the Earls of Antrim. Upon the death of her mother in 1834, Frances Lady Londonderry inherited a portion of the Antrim Estate, almost 10,000 acres lying mostly between Glenarm and Glenariff. Following much debate she decided to build a summer residence and in 1848 the foundation stone was laid for Garron Tower. The principal guest at the opening of the Tower was the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Clarendon. Coinciding with the end of the Famine in 1849, the four Coastguard cottages at 91 Garron Road were built as part of that estate. Lady Londonderry showed a considerable interest in the day to day administration of her estate, demanding detailed reports from her agents. She was a relentlessly improving landowner, encouraging agricultural improvement and endowing schools, clothing societies, etc. The link with Lady Antrim's ancestral seat, Glenarm Castle, a few miles to the south is such that it was suspected Lady Londonderry's intention had been to upstage Glenarm Castle with the erection of Garron Tower. Garron has a dominant tower at one end of a lengthy building, polygonal with a square turret; whilst at the other end of the front a short wing projects forwards, ending in a rectangular tower and turret. With the exception of somewhat prosaic machicolations and crenellations, the walls are quite featureless. The mansion was enlarged in 1852 with the addition of a hall. The main front of the the terrace is flanked by cannon and there is a Dog's Cave containing a dog which was owned by Lady Londonderry and which has a fully inscriber memorial in place.
This photograph was made into postcard and sent to Miss J. Graham, Carmavey Muckamore Co. Antrim on the 8th of August 1923 and
it reads: "Dear Jeane Just down for the day and having a good time. Yours Truly E. Campbell."