 While originally it was named "St David's Pillar", in the historic Ordnance Survey mapping of 1888 it was referred to by its present name (which refers to the locality of Derry Ormond).The tower was Grade II* listed on 28 February 1952 "as one of the most prominent romantic monuments in the region, of which the Pendinas Column of 1853 at Aberystwyth is the only other of similar form.