Ice House: Woodstock and Glynllifon
An ice house is defined as a building or structure, usually of brick or stone, in which ice was stored. They can often be partially or wholly underground and are usually located in the grounds or parks of large country houses. Ice houses were constructed from medieval times onwards for the storage of ice to provide a constant supply for domestic and medicinal uses.
There are two ice house within the Woodstock estate. One is located adjacent to Woodstock House whilst the other is in a prominent position over the banks of the River Nore. The date of the latter is uncertain however it may have been built to serve the Red House which is located further downstream on the river banks. The ice house is currently colonised by bats.
The actual construction date for the Woodstock House ice house is uncertain. The ice house does not appear on the 1839 Ordinance Survey map but this is not unusual for such a structure. It is very doubtful that the ice house was constructed after that date. Construction of similar style ice houses was common throughout Ireland between the 1730s and the 1820s. An undated estimate for the construction of an ice-house at Woodstock is thought to refer to the above ice-house. This is due to the materials referred to and its high price and its reference to cut stone. The estimate was addressed to William Tighe and therefore the estimate for work is presumably dated to the years of 1780-1816. Reeves-Smyth and Jupp (2000) place the construction of the ice house to a five year period of 1805-1810 when William Tighe undertook a major building programme on the house.
At Glynllifon, there are two caverns which have been cut into the steep slope that runs along one side of the the Lime Avenue to the east of the house. It seems the cavern furthest away from the house was originally an early ice-house which was constructed during the early part of the 19th century.
This ice-house was later converted by the third Lord Newborough into an ornamental grotto, grottoes being a very fashionable addition to gardens and parks of the Victorian era! The grotto’s cavern was decorated with a pool and plaster figures which were lit with a blue light coming through a stained glass window in the roof. This ice-house/grotto is now closed to the public for saftey reasons, but the rock-cut passageway which leads to the chamber itself can be seen clearly through the iron gate.
It is assumed that the ice-house was converted in the 1840/50s into a grotto because it was no longer needed by the Hall’s residents. The reason for this might have been a new storage solution for the ice or more likely new advances in technology which dispelled the need for an ice-house. Such technology as ‘a patent freezing machine’ which was bought by the Newborough family in July 1851 and also developments in transport which made transporting perishable goods from the supplier to Glynllifon Hall much easier!
Sources:
Reeves-Smyth and Jupp, B. (2000) Woodstock Gardens and Demesne County Kilkenny, The Gazetteer
CADW : Conwy, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey – Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales .
