Conservation Work Continues at Historic Kirkyard Sites

Conservation Work Continues at Historic Kirkyard Sites

Over the course of summer 2014 the conservation team at Austin-Smith:Lord has been supervising the careful repairs to kirkyard monuments and boundary walls at seven historic kirkyards at the Hillfoots near Stirling. The work is being undertaken for the Ochils Landscape Partnership and Clackmannanshire Council and has funding support from various agencies including the Heritage Lottery Fund.

One important structure that has been exposed for urgent and necessary repairs to a section of collapsed brick vaulting is the Alva Ice House dating from the 1820s. This impressive brick egg-shaped chamber is surrounded by a passageway network with marble lined shelves for the storage of food.

David Millar, Head of Conservation at Austin-Smith:Lord said “This is a unique opportunity to explore and understand the brick type and masonry construction of a structure that is often partially out of the ground. This structure is completely buried and very well constructed”.

The Ice House is one of several projects that the Ochils Landscape Partnership has been delivering in terms of natural and cultural heritage. The projects aim to improve access to, and restore, built heritage and provide on-site and online interpretation about the area’s cultural, social and industrial past.

You can learn more about the Alva Ice House in the following short movie:
https://ochils.org.uk/alva-house-and-icehouse