Fort Royal

Detached single-bay single-storey former pump house associated with Fort Royal (see 40819034), built c. 1880. Flat concrete roof. Rubble stone walls. Round-headed opening to the south elevation having stone sill to base. Pump mechanism to interior have circular cast-iron pump wheel and modern fittings. Set back from road in mature landscaped grounds to the north of Fort Royal, and to the north\north-east of Rathmullan.

This interesting former pump house was originally built to serve Fort Royal (see 40819034) with which it forms part of an interesting group of related structures. It retains its original form and character despite some modern alterations. It is robustly built in local rubble stone masonry while the round-headed opening to the south lends it a somewhat picturesque appearance for a functional structure such as a pump house; this was probably an intentional design feature to create a folly-like structure in the demesne landscape of the main house. Pump houses (generally in the form of hydraulic rams) were a common feature in country estates in Ireland that came into use at the end of the eighteenth century and into popular use during nineteenth century. These are now becoming increasingly rare survivals due to the availability of the mains water supply from the start of the twentieth century. Pump houses were used to pump water from a stream, well etc. for use in the main house, for supplying water features, and for use in the gardens etc. It probably originally dates to the last decades of the nineteenth century, possibly to around the time that the estate was purchased by Major General George Samuel Montgomery (1820-1898) in 1878. This water pump (the mechanism of which appears to largely survive to the interior) is an interesting example of its type, and is an addition to the built heritage and social\technical history of the local area.