Ice House North Of The Lake, Manor Park

WEST MALLING

1156/0/10017 ST. LEONARD'S STREET 22-APR-10 Ice house north of The Lake, Manor Park

II 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 15 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.

SOURCES: Pink's Accurate Map of 1789. Copy in British Library. English Heritage's Monuments Protection Programme Step 3 Report on Ice Houses. (Unpublished). This ice house is identified as No.40 on a list of 64 known ice houses in Kent.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Ice House north of The Lake, Manor Park is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historic Interest: it is of late C18 date, probably built after about 1776 when Douce's Manor, the house to which it originally related, was built, and is shown on "Pink's Accurate Map" of 1789 * Group value: it forms part of a country house complex as although it is now in separate ownership, it is located within a country park still visually linked to the main house, Douce's Manor, which is listed Grade II*. * Intactness: it retains an intact domed chamber, although the entrance and any possible superstructure has not survived.