Progress on new school

I'm delighted to report that the building of our new school is now progressing very well. The unseasonably mild weather has resulted in more progress than anticipated being made over the past 6 weeks. Pupils and staff have readily adapted to moving around a smaller Lauderdale campus and, pleasingly, all have adapted well to the addition travelling involved in moving to and from Darroch.

During the demolition work workers have uncovered an ice house. This underground, dome shaped structure constructed out of stone would have been used to keep food fresh throughout the summer months.

Wikipedia describes ice-house as follows:

'The ice house was introduced to Britain around 1660. Various types and designs of ice house exist. However, British ice houses were commonly brick lined, domed structures, with most of their volume underground. Ice houses varied in design depending on the date and builder, but were mainly conical or rounded at the bottom to hold melted ice. They usually had a drain to take away any water. It is recorded that the idea for ice houses was brought to Britain by travellers who had seen similar arrangements in Italy, where peasants collected ice from the mountains and used it to keep food fresh inside caves. Ice Houses may be known as Ice Houses, Ice Wells, Ice Pits and Ice Mounds.'

Following agreement with the relevant authorities, our ice house will be carefully packed and recovered, thus preserving it for the future.