What is recorded here
Rossmore Castle in Killycushil made its own lighting gas, leaving a pointed iron cooling chamber that looks like a chess bishop with notions of becoming a missile. Other houses bought candles. Here, getting ready for dinner involved a gasworks.
Cast-iron cooling chamber, constructed c.1880, as part of gasworks. Disused. Octagonal-plan cast-iron chamber, widening and converging at points at half-height and tapering vertically to a point. Fixed with iron bolts to red brick square-plan pier, possibly containing void, with adjoining coursed rubble stone wall running west. Located west of site of Rossmore Castle.
This cooling chamber is located to the west of the remains of Rossmore Castle and is located east of what is marked on the 1908 Ordnance Survey map as "Gashouse Wood". The feature is located within one of the most interesting demesnes in County Monaghan, containing gates and lodges, a mausoleum, walled garden and other items. This feature is part of an interesting collection of industrial items that includes sluice gates, a hydraulic dam for generating electricity, a pumping works to provide fresh water to the Castle which was located on a height, and these remains of the gas works, used to produce gas for lighting primarily, became common features on Demesnes in the latter half of the 1800s, this example was probably built around 1870 or shortly after. It is likely that much of the gasworks was demolished in the 1940s when the country house itself was demolished. The cooling chamber now acts as a landmark for walkers in the Park and may have been moved from its original location for this purpose.
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 41401330
This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.
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Photo credits
- Walking with a phone, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection , a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library. View image on Flickr View all images from book View catalogue entry for book ., Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
- National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Dieglop, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eric Jones, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Raymond Okonski, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Brian Lenehan, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Willow, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5
Rossmore CastleWalled garden · 282 yd
Rossmore CastleDemesne walls/gates/railings · 301 yd
Rossmore CastleGate lodge · 416 yd
Rossmore CastleWater pump · 469 yd
Rossmore Forest ParkWood · 600 yd
Dawson MonumentMonument · 1.9 mi
Old Cross SquareMonument · 2.0 mi
European ash2.1 miMore historic places in County Monaghan · All of County Monaghan

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