Ice house

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A domestic ice house of rectangular and oblong form, constructed mainly of brick, comprising a vaulted passage leading to a vaulted circular end chamber, all raised above ground level and covered with soil and vegetation. Main entrance faces east: segmental arched, of brick, with stuccoed reveals, some stucco broken off. Projecting buttress of roughly squared basalt to each side of entrance. Side elevations of passage: brickwork with vaulted roof partly covered over with stones and sods, now overgrown with vegetation including a sizeable tree on north side. West end roughly domical in appearance covered with basalt boulders and sods.

Setting: the structure is situated in an artificial hollow created in the sloping side of a hill overlooking the main road and clearly visible from the road against a background of mature trees.

Historical information

Built as a domestic ice house for Kilwaughter Castle. Appears on the OS map of 1832.

References - Primary Sources

1. OS Map 1832, Co Antrim 40.

Secondary Sources

1. J. Irvine, ‘Pigeon houses and ice houses in Co Antrim’, in The Glynns (Journal of the Glens of Antrim Historical Society), Vol 14, 1986, pp 16-20.
2. F. Hamond, Antrim Coast and Glens Industrial Heritage (HMSO, Belfast, 1991), p 35.
3. IHR 7617.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Ice house: this is an example of a well proportioned ice house of distinct plan form and spatial arrangement, displaying impressive structural form inside, despite the loss of some minor elements. It stands in a pleasant setting and is of considerable local interest as a part of the 19th century development of the Kilwaughter estate.