Icehouse Approximately 35 Metres South of Postern, Hertford Castle (Hertford Castle Demolished) is a Grade II listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. Icehouse.

Icehouse Approximately 35 Metres South of Postern, Hertford Castle (Hertford Castle Demolished)

WRENN ID
late-hall-flax
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Hertfordshire
Constituency
Hertford and Stortford MP: Josh Dean (Lab)
Country
England
Type
Icehouse
OS grid reference
TL 325 124
Coordinates
51.79461, -0.07992
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The icehouse, built around 1795 to 1800, is located approximately 35 meters south of the Postern at Hertford Castle, which has since been demolished. It is constructed of red brick in header bond and features a subterranean chamber with an earth mound above. Access is gained through a reset-iron gate beneath a modern concrete slab, leading into an arched entrance. The structure has a dogleg plan, measuring 4.7 meters long, with a red brick floor and a segmental arched roof. Inside, there are four frame rebates that lead to a circular well approximately 3.5 meters in diameter and 3.2 meters deep. The well has a hemispherical domed roof made of header bonded brick and a conical lower section in English bond. Although the brickwork is discoloured and calcified, it appears to have originally been red. The well features a lip at the end, creating a small access hole, and the well door is positioned sloping over the well. A small window has been cut into the left wall of the entrance tunnel between the second and third doors, but its purpose is unclear as it now only reveals the surrounding earth mound. The construction of the icehouse took place on the thin islet between the two historic castle moats, during major alterations carried out by the Marquis of Downshire in the late 18th century.

Local climate

Icehouse Approximately 35 Metres South of Postern, Hertford Castle (Hertford Castle Demolished) sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 88% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 84% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 55% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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