Icehouse, Blindwell, Co. Galway
Co. Galway |
Estate Features
Along the edges of certain nineteenth-century estates in Ireland, you occasionally find structures that served a purpose so specific, and so tied to a particular moment in domestic technology, that they became obsolete almost as soon as running water and mechanical refrigeration arrived.
The icehouse at Blindwell in County Galway is one such place, a subterranean or semi-subterranean chamber built to store blocks of ice cut from frozen ponds or lakes during winter, packed in straw or sawdust, and drawn upon through the warmer months to keep food fresh and cold drinks cold for the households of the landed gentry. These buildings tend to be quietly odd in the landscape, often appearing as a low mound with a heavy arched door set into it, easy to walk past without any sense of what lies beneath.
Visitor Notes
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