Icehouse

The National Monuments Service's description

The ruins of a late 18th or early 19th century Summer House (WM029-051----) standing on top of an artificial mound covering an icehouse stands inside a walled woodland area. An entrance gate and walkway though the woodland to north-north-east provides access to Moydrum Castle (NIAH Reg. No. 15402917; RPS No. 029-006) and pond located immediately to NNE. The pond now dried up is clearly shown on the 1837 edition of the OSi six-inch. The walled garden (NIAH Reg. No. 15402918; RPS No. 029-007) of Moydrum Castle stands 78 metres to the south. A range of buildings forming a quadrangular-shaped area stand immediately to the south of the walled woodland area and is annotated ‘Hill House’ on the 1837 ed. OSi six-inch map.
Present remains consist of a summer house standing on top of an earthen mound covering an icehouse which is entered through an entrance passage at base of mound on north-west side. The covering of earth acted as an insulating layer for the icehouse. The entrance tunnel or passage (L 7.65m; Wth 1.22m; H 1.14m) with brick-lined vaulted roof and rubble side-walls running eastwards towards a lobby area (dims. 1.82m E-W x 1.97m N-S) with redbrick floor off which the redbrick-lined ice chamber (diam. 4.36m; H c. 5.5m) was accessed. The entrance to the tunnel was protected by a doorway now removed, with two doorways protecting the lobby area. This lobby area lies directly beneath the flight of steps leading to the doorway of the summer house directly above. A doorway on the southern side of this lobby area gives access to the redbrick lined ice chamber, the base of which has been partly filled with modern rubbish. The double doorway in the lobby area at the eastern end of the entrance passage may have served as an insulating airlock off the ice chamber. This chamber is accessed off a redbrick-lined flat-headed doorway. The lower half of the ice chamber consists of a redbrick inverted cone with rubble stone wall above all of which is capped by a circular-shaped brick lined domed roof. The ice for this chamber was collected from the pond located adjacent to Moydrum Castle which is shown on the 1837 ed. OSi 6-inch map. The construction of the summer house and ice house beneath appear to have been built at the same time and were probably built to complement each other. The presence of the small walled woodland plantation would have offered shade acting as a cooling effect and is therefore part of the designed landscaping of the ice-house.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 27/07/2021