The Salmon Larder and Ice House

The Salmon Larder and Ice House, sometimes known as "the dairy," dates to circa 1814 and was built for the 6th Duke of Bedford, likely designed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville. The building was largely obscured by a tarpaulin at the time of survey in 1985, prior to proposed repairs for the Landmark Trust. It is constructed of Hurdwick ashlar with remnants of a pyramidal wooden shingle roof, formerly thatched. The structure is a Picturesque block with a five-sided eastern end, built into the natural slope of the land. Below the salmon larder are an ice house and a cellar. The salmon larder has a walkway with a parapet featuring a chamfered string around the east end. The north side has a Gothic portico with pointed, chamfered arches. The south side, facing the Dairy Dell, is gabled and supported by rustic posts resting on the parapet wall. The gable includes ornamental bargeboards and Gothic moulding consistent with the rustic porch of the Dairy Dell Cottage. At the time of survey in 1985, the windows were boarded over, but seem to consist of an arched timber Gothic window in the east bay of the larder, and high transomed casement windows to the north and south, all with diamond leaded panes. Internally, opposed flights of stone steps descend to the ice house and cellar, while a third flight of steps leads up to the salmon larder. The larder’s walls are lined with white tiles, some decorated with an ivy leaf border around seven recesses. Slate sinks are set within a continuous drain that provided running water. A central table in the larder has an octagonal slate top supported by eight slate arches above an octagonal drain. The cellar below the larder has a plain, arched stone vaulted roof. A small semi-circular projecting oven, with a grid at the top and a flue set in a niche, may have been used for cream making. A letter from Wyatville, dated 1814, references the project, stating that the Duke had requested sketches, as documented in Bedford Estate Papers held at the Devon Record Office.