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Port Moon Ice House is a nineteenth-century ice house located in Moyle, County Antrim, built to serve what is believed to have been a salmon fishery. The structure survives as a testament to the infrastructure required for preserving fresh fish before the advent of mechanical refrigeration. Ice houses of this period were typically built partially underground to take advantage of natural insulation, and were filled during winter months with ice cut from frozen ponds or brought from further afield, then packed in sawdust or straw for use throughout the warmer seasons.
The site sits on bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lavas and tuffs—which form part of the volcanic geology of this region. The underlying geology would have presented particular challenges for construction, influencing both the design and positioning of the ice house within the local landscape.
The ice house is recorded under Historic Environment Division reference 16029 as a protected monument. The association with Port Moon fishery remains uncertain, reflecting gaps in the documentary record for this locality. The survival of such structures provides important physical evidence of the commercial fishing industry and preservation technologies that characterised nineteenth-century settlements along the Antrim coast.
Ice house (associated with port moon salmon fishery) is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 16029. View the official record →
Port Moon Ice House is a nineteenth-century ice house located in Moyle, County Antrim, built to serve what is believed to have been a salmon fishery. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 16029.
Ice house (associated with port moon salmon fishery) dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a fishery. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Ice house (associated with port moon salmon fishery) is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 16029.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carnkirk castle. round cairn (3.5 km), Dunboy. raised rath with souterrain (3.6 km), Castlenagree. mound (cashel or barrow?) (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ice house (associated with port moon salmon fishery)'s history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Ice house (associated with port moon salmon fishery) stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.