The Grimsby Ice Factory Including Railings

This substantial ice factory comprises two linked units built in red brick with blue brick and ashlar dressings, slate and glazed roofs, and copper domes on the north unit. The original factory was constructed in 1900-1 to designs by WF Cott, consulting engineer, for the Great Grimsby Ice Company Limited, with an extension added in 1907-8 and later alterations. The building has a chamfered blue brick plinth and an approximately rectangular plan, consisting of two linked factories separated by a passage that formerly carried a railway, cutting across at an angle. The factory has frontages to Gorton Street, Fish Dock Road, Stuart Wortley Street and the railway passage.

Gorton Street Elevation

The main front faces Fish Dock Number 2 and consists of a two-storey, twelve-bay range to the left and a single-storey, eight-bay range to the right. The left range is divided into three sections: two four-bay pedimented fronts with a narrow linking bay between topped by a short square tower, and to the right a three-bay parapeted section. A narrow cantilevered balcony with plain iron railings sits on the plinth of the sections on the left.

The pedimented sections have angle pilasters, the outer ones rising to small square turrets, while the inner ones flank the linking bay which has a central full-height keyed round-arched blind panel. The pedimented fronts form a handed pair, each with a full-height pilastered blind arcade of four arched panels with ashlar keystones and rubbed-brick impost mouldings. The outer panels are round-arched, while the wider twin central panels have elliptical arches, one of which in each section has been replaced by a first-floor loading door beneath a lintel.

At ground floor level, the central two bays to each section have segmental relieving arches and single sliding loading doors, while the outer bays have round-headed glazing-bar windows. Large square cast-iron tie-bar ends at first-floor level bear the lettering "G G I Co Ld". The first-floor openings are round-headed and blind. Moulded brick cornices and friezes crown the sections, that to the right bearing the painted inscription "THE GRIMSBY ICE CO LTD"; traces of former painted lettering survive on the left frieze. Both pediments have a blind keyed oculus, stone coping with a central finial. The central tower has angle pilasters with blind slits, a small central opening with a bracketed wooden bell-frame below, and a moulded and dentilled brick cornice. The angle turrets have panelled sides, moulded cornices and pyramidal ashlar caps.

The three-bay section to the right also has a full-height pilastered blind arcade of recessed panels, the outer bays round-arched, the inner bay elliptical-arched, each containing keyed arched openings with moulded imposts: a blind opening to the ground-floor centre, the openings to the left bay with glazing-bar windows, the others partly blocked and with various inserted 20th-century openings. It has a rebuilt coped parapet. These left-hand ranges have first-floor iron balconies and walkways, and a pair of overhead gantries with ice conveyors crossing the street to the dockside.

The lower eight-bay range to the right has a chamfered plinth and recessed panels to each bay. The two left bays are rendered and have inserted 20th-century ground-floor doors. The five bays to the right have round-headed windows with glazing bars, stone sills and a flush sill band, moulded brick imposts and an impost band. A blind panel to the far right has a sill and impost band.

The north factory unit, beyond the railway passage, has an angled two-storey section with fronts to the passage and to Stuart Wortley Street. Behind this is a taller section facing Gorton Street, with a three-bay pedimented section and a tower adjoining to the left, both with angle pilasters. The tower has a narrow round-headed blind panel to each side with an elongated keystone, a moulded brick cornice, and a coped parapet. A central copper dome surmounted by a flagpole is flanked by four small domes. The pedimented section has a pilastered arcade with moulded brick imposts, round-headed keyed arches containing round-headed recessed panels, those to the right with an inserted door and window. The tympanum has a central blocked round-arched opening with keystone, stone coping with a central ball finial, and the angle pilaster to the right is capped with a small square turret.

Fish Dock Road Elevation

The north factory unit comprises, from left, a two-storey five-bay section and a slightly taller two-bay section with coped parapets, and a symmetrical three-storey five-bay section to the right with the central three bays topped with a pediment. The sections to the left have full-height recessed panels to each bay; the first five bays have round-headed blind openings to the ground floor and square-headed blind openings to the first floor beneath cambered brick arches, all with sills. The two bays to the right have round-headed glazing-bar windows to the ground floor and similar openings to the first floor with lunettes above blind panels.

The pedimented section, flanked by pilasters, has three recessed segmental-arched panels below containing three-light ground-floor windows with glazing bars beneath heavy steel lintels, chequered brick panels above and three-light first-floor windows with sills and glazing bars. Above is a pilastered blind arcade of narrow round-headed panels with moulded brick imposts and ashlar keystones, containing recessed round-headed glazing-bar windows with sills. A moulded brick cornice and frieze bear the painted lettering "THE GRIMSBY ICE COMPANY LTD". The pediment has a moulded brick cornice, a small oculus with elongated keystones, and stone coping with a central ball finial. The flanking pilasters are capped with square turrets with blind panels, moulded cornices and pyramidal caps. Single flanking bays have a continuation of the cornice and frieze and pilasters capped with turrets: the bay to the left has a round-headed ground-floor entrance with double doors beneath a steel lintel, a chequered brick tympanum and a keyed arch; the bay to the right forms one side of an angle turret beside the railway passage.

The south factory unit, to the right of the railway passage, has a front of two builds to Fish Dock Road. The earlier section to the left has one-three-one bays with recessed panels to each bay. The wider outer bays have keyed round-headed ground-floor openings with glazing-bar windows, that to the right incorporating a central door, and single circular windows above with glazing bars. The three narrower central bays have recessed round-headed panels containing ground-floor windows beneath lintels, and round-headed first-floor windows, all with stone sills and glazing bars. A coped parapet crowns this section. The section to the right has two large glazed panels, each of six lights, with three tiers of windows and a coped parapet.

Stuart Wortley Street Elevation

The north factory unit is two storeys, with a tall three-bay central section flanked by lower six-bay sections, with recessed panels to each bay. The left section has two full-height blind panels and a wide ground-floor entrance to the right beneath a steel lintel, with four recessed panels above containing round-headed first-floor windows with glazing bars. It has a parapet with later 20th-century concrete coping.

The central three-bay section has pilasters between bays and angle pilasters capped by square turrets. At ground floor level are a pair of tall keyed round-arched openings to the left, one with a loading door, the other partly blocked and with an inserted window, both with steel lintels at impost level and chequered brick tympana, and a round-headed glazing-bar window to the right. Above are recessed round-headed panels with keystones and moulded brick imposts, containing blind round-headed openings with sills, that to the left with a small inserted door and iron balcony. The coped parapet is ramped up to the pedimented front to Gorton Street to the left.

Railway Passage Elevations

The northern factory unit comprises, from left, a twenty-bay section of two and three storeys, a single-bay tower, and a low two-storey range with five irregular first-floor openings. The twenty-bay section has blue brick to the ground floor and recessed panels to each bay. The four bays to the left have three-light ground-floor and first-floor windows with glazing bars beneath steel lintels, separated by chequered brick panels. Above are round-headed openings containing lunettes with sills above blind panels, one with a door to an iron gantry walkway linked to the southern factory unit.

The fifteen bays to the right have round-headed openings to the ground floor, one with a blind panel, another with an inserted door, the others with glazing-bar windows, some beneath louvres. Above are round-headed blind panels with blind lunettes with sills, and a stepped brick eaves cornice. The section to the right has a blocked ground-floor door to the left of centre and a wide four-light wooden first-floor window with glazing bars and a boarded apron beneath a steel lintel; to the left, a pair of blind square-headed first-floor openings; to the right, two bays with recessed panels containing round-headed windows to each floor and a coped parapet.

The railway passage elevation of the southern factory unit has five two-storey parapeted sections of varying height, with four, five, three, two, and five first-floor openings. The three sections to the left have three square-headed doors, one blocked, and a blocked round-headed door, with round-headed and segmental-headed glazing-bar windows to ground and first floors. The taller two-bay range to the right of centre has recessed panels containing round-headed glazing-bar windows, that to first-floor right with a door and gantry walkway to the northern factory unit. The five-bay section to the right has full-height recessed round-headed panels with ground-floor and first-floor glazing-bar windows similar to the adjoining Fish Dock Road front.

Interior

The interior features massive girder construction supporting six rows of refrigeration tanks on two floors, complete with machinery for producing blocks of ice. The factory was converted to electricity in 1933 and compressors remain in the Compressor Room. The northern unit has been partly cleared but the massive girder construction remains.

Historical Context

The factory was built following the amalgamation of the Grimsby Ice Company with the Co-operative Ice Company and supplied ice for fish packing. The overhead gantries on the Gorton Street front carried ice into the dockside fish-landing building opposite. Production ceased in 1990. The Grimsby Ice Company was one of Grimsby's leading fishing companies, and also built the Fisherlads' Home for fishing apprentices in Convamore Road.

This ice factory illustrates Grimsby's importance as the world's foremost fishing centre in the earlier 20th century. This building is understood to be the earliest remaining ice factory in the United Kingdom. Furthermore it is believed to be the sole survivor, complete with its machinery, from this period.