Moydrum Ice Tower Athlone

donogo1

So this is Listed on the RMP maps has a preservation order protecting it with the highest possible laws protecting it the local authority and National Monuments control it and essentially own it. The lawn and road way next to it is part of another property and is private so the ice tower is land locked no right of way on this folio.

Getting into the orders protecting the buildings here its protected in such a way that you cannot touch it in any way the trees are all on the RMP protection order cannot be trimmed or cut for historical reasons and it was part of the ice tower designed to provide camouflage to cool the ice tower in summer. There is allow a well and underground tunnels in red brick to carry the river under the castle grounds that once flowed into murdrum lake.

I have spent 20 years working with the local authority National Monuments and various government bodies protecting this no planning permission for any alterations will be granted I will object strongly my goal is to protect our history and monument's we have quite a few monuments in our list and we check them monthly sometimes weekly to check to damage or alterations owners can be fined up to six figures for any alterations and a compulsory purchase order can be placed if required and as far as i know this folio is in the early stages of that.

Description: The ruins of a late 18th or early 19th century Summer House (WM029-051----) standing on top of an artificial mound covering an icehouse stands inside a walled woodland area. An entrance gate and walkway though the woodland to north-north-east provides access to Moydrum Castle (NIAH Reg. No. 15402917; RPS No. 029-006) and pond located immediately to NNE. The pond now dried up is clearly shown on the 1837 edition of the OSi six-inch. The walled garden (NIAH Reg. No. 15402918; RPS No. 029-007) of Moydrum Castle stands 78 metres to the south. A range of buildings forming a quadrangular-shaped area stand immediately to the south of the walled woodland area and is annotated ‘Hill House’ on the 1837 ed. OSi six-inch map. Present remains consist of a summer house standing on top of an earthen mound covering an icehouse which is entered through an entrance passage at base of mound on north-west side. The covering of earth acted as an insulating layer for the icehouse. The entrance tunnel or passage (L 7.65m; Wth 1.22m; H 1.14m) with brick-lined vaulted roof and rubble side-walls running eastwards towards a lobby area (dims. 1.82m E-W x 1.97m N-S) with redbrick floor off which the redbrick-lined ice chamber (diam. 4.36m; H c. 5.5m) was accessed. The entrance to the tunnel was protected by a doorway now removed, with two doorways protecting the lobby area. This lobby area lies directly beneath the flight of steps leading to the doorway of the summer house directly above. A doorway on the southern side of this lobby area gives access to the redbrick lined ice chamber, the base of which has been partly filled with modern rubbish. The double doorway in the lobby area at the eastern end of the entrance passage may have served as an insulating airlock off the ice chamber. This chamber is accessed off a redbrick-lined flat-headed doorway. The lower half of the ice chamber consists of a redbrick inverted cone with rubble stone wall above all of which is capped by a circular-shaped brick lined domed roof. The ice for this chamber was collected from the pond located adjacent to Moydrum Castle which is shown on the 1837 ed. OSi 6-inch map. The construction of the summer house and ice house beneath appear to have been built at the same time and were probably built to complement each other. The presence of the small walled woodland plantation would have offered shade acting as a cooling effect and is therefore part of the designed landscaping of the ice-house. 

 

  

 

Six-Inch First edition: Not indicated 

Six-Inch Latest edition: Not indicated 

 

ITM Coordinates: 609071 , 741912 

Latitude and Longitude: 53.427237 , -7.863513