18th May 2009 – Ice House
In a recent “From Our Files”, in a local newspaper in the Highlands , it was noted that 125 years ago in April 1884 a fish salesman in Inverness had received “Their first consignment of pure Norway ice for the season”. What would a large quantity of ice from Norway be used for in the Highlands that was renowned for its ice and snow? This importation of ice was partly to meet the demands of the growing number of ice houses with the first being built in Britain in 1619. The practice spread and during the period of 1750 to 1875 some 3,000 ice houses were built. In the Highlands during the period 1800 to 1810 many ice houses were built around the Moray Firth coast and from old maps and charts no less than 29 have been identified. All were associated with salmon fishing stations based on salmon rivers They varied from Tugnet to the east and as far north as Duncansby Head. The basic concept was to have a large stone structure partly underground to maintain low temperatures. Some had wooden structures on the top of the ice house for the storage of the fishing nets.
Salmon were never actually stored in the ice house as when the salmon were caught in the summer the fish and ice were packed into special boxes that once sealed weighed around 34 pounds. The common problem with so many ice houses was getting ice. This is why so many ice houses were associated with rivers such as the Findhorn ice house on the side of the River Findhorn east of Inverness. The Tugnet ice house, reckoned to be the largest in Scotland, was based on the side of the mouth of the River Spey. The present Tugnet ice house was built in 1830 and so probably replaced an earlier structure mentioned in 18th century literature.
To start with the ice came from two main sources with one being the natural inlets along the sides of rivers. The other source was specially constructed fish ponds often associated with rivers. These were shallow dug out areas that were filled with water through a sluice and when they froze each winter there was plenty of ice. The problems came in the early 1800s as the demand for ice was ever increasing and to add to the problem winter temperatures rose. This meant there was less ice to go round and, incredibly, they began to bring in ice by ship from Norway, then Canada and after 1840 from the USA. The latter was particularly pure clear ice cut in blocks from Wenham lake near Boston, Massachusetts. This ice found it way to fashionable parties and even mixed with drinks.
These days it is difficult to imagine the importance of such fishing stations and ice houses but some facts from Tugnet tell the story. In the late 18th century over 130 people were annually employed in the fishing season. In the year 1792 no less than 24 ships called at Tugnet for cargoes of salmon preserved in ice from the ice house for the London market. The early boats for catching salmon were the round Spey coracle or currach later replaced by the cobles. These latter boats are in the photograph with the Tugnet Icehouse behind. The frame of the coracle was made of wicker with a cow’s hide stretched over it. The trade had language of its own and the tools included ice grabs, wooden mells for breaking the ice, ice saws, “yarlins” used for unwinding the hanks of net making twine, needles for net making and marlinspikes for splicing the fishing ropes. A world of its own and now almost forgotten.
