Monument record MDR8804 - Icehouse, The Garden House, Middleton

Originally the icehouse for Middleton Hall, this icehouse is now in the grounds of Garden House, which was separated from Middleton Hall in 1975. It is situated 30 feet south-east of the front door of the Garden House in a sunken walled garden. The entrance faces due east and the icehouse is shaded by mature trees to the south and west. The nearest source of ice would have been a mill pond on the River Middleton, half a mile away. The walls are constructed from rough limestone with mortar joints, with dressed gritstones used in places. The roof is made from large slabs of limestone and the whole building is covered by a mound of earth approximately 18 inches deep over the roof. There is no indication of any drainage at the base of the pit, so presumably water soaked away through the base limestone in which it is constructed. (1). Small 19th century domestic icehouse with a limestone façade. The overall depth is four metres and the building is c. 1.2 metres square. (2). 19th century Ice House, constructed of rubble limestone with ashlar dressings. It has a low entrance with a shallow lintel and quoined surround, leading to the ice pit via narrow tunnel. The tunnel and pit are lined with rectangular stone slabs. (3). The condition of this icehouse is good. The entrance tunnel measures 1.8 metres long, 0.76 metres wide and 1.2 metres high. The roof of the tunnel continues over the straight-sided shaft. This shaft has an overall height of 3.65 metres and a depth from the floor level of the tunnel to the base of 2.5 metres. During the cold winter of January 1976 the owners filled the icehouse tightly with snow which lasted until the beginning of June. (4).