Rostellan Ice House
Rostellan Icehouse entrance
Rostellan Icehouse approach
Rostellan Icehouse
On the grounds of Rostellan estate and beside the walled gardens you can find an underground ice house.
These ice houses were the cold rooms of by-gone days which were used for keeping meat and fish in storage over time. They were located close to lakes and ponds where ice could be collected and used in the cooling process for food preservation.
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Hi Darragh, I am interested in your comment. Would it be possible to discuss further with you by email perhaps?
Most Icehouses were originally pressure vessels linked to hydraulic rams. Refer to diagrams of surround structures to the icehouse where pressure chambers are evident in the design. When rams went out of use, they were repurposed as Icehouses, and their original function lost to time. There are many examples of rams linked to “Icehouses” or air valves, dotted around Ireland, UK and mostly in USA ( approx 2000 rams). Civil Engineers would recognize the architecture of this lifting system and need of a surge vessel to alleviate waterhammer pressure waves in the piped network. To architects and conservationists, this would not be obvious.
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