WOODLAWN ICEHOUSE

Now derelict and somewhat overgrown, this c.1780 icehouse was part of Woodlawn house. Icehouses are an increasingly rare type in Ireland and are mainly associated, as in this case, with the demesnes of large country houses.

They illustrate the engineering and innovation required to preserve and chill food in the past and highlight the differences between the standards of living experienced between the upper and lower classes of society. Icehouses were usually built close to water as it was an appropriate source of ice in the winter months.