Icehouse situated in SE corner of Ice House Filed in a group of pine trees at the E end of Manor Park Lake. The icehouse chamber, ruinous and buried, was rediscovered in 1985. Capped for safety reasons in 1963. The circular chamber is constructed of brick with a concrete lining at the bottom and measuring c15' deep and c10' in dia. The c3' wide opening is set horizontally and flanked with brickwork. No evidence of a domed roof covering other than an earthen mound and no entrance passage. (1)

From the listing text:

Ice house. Late C18, probably constructed after 1776 and in existence by 1789. Concealed under an earth mound a few metres to the north of the lake at Manor Park at TQ 679573. The top is concealed under a thick mid C20 square concrete slab which is not of special interest.

DESCRIPTION: Comprises a cylindrical partially domed chamber probably about 10 feet in diameter with about 1 5 feet in depth visible above silt deposits. It is lined in hand-made red bricks in header bond. At the time of inspection there was no evidence of a side entry, suggesting access was from the top. An expected drain to the lake bed was not visible.

HISTORY: The ice house is situated a few metres north of a lake on land originally belonging to Douce's Manor. This house was built in 1776 by Benjamin Hubble with alterations and extensions of 1802 by Thomas Dance. A structure in the approximate position of the ice house is shown on "Pink's Accurate Map" of 1789. this shows an elongated oval structure which either depicts the mound or may depict an overground structure above the ice house, since demolished. On the 1885 Ordnance Survey Map a circular mound is shown to the north of the lake in the position of the ice house, surrounded by a circular dotted line. The 1896 Ordnance Survey map does not show this dotted line; presumably the ice house was more overgrown by this date. During the Second World War, the field on which the ice house is situated was used as a prison camp for interned Germans, and it is believed that it was at this time that the aperture at the top was sealed by a thick concrete slab. The land on which the ice house is situated was later detached from Douce's Manor and is now a Country Park.

A hole was bored into the roof of the structure to view the interior in 2009. A number of photos were taken. (2)

<1> Roaf, S. & Beamon, S. P., 1990, The Ice Houses of Britain, Beamon, S and Roaf, S 1990 'Ice Houses of Britain' p.317 (Monograph). SKE8293.

<2> Peter Cosier, 2009, Initial Report on the Ice House West Malling (Unpublished document). SKE18041.