Ice House At The Mulberries

The Ice House at The Mulberries is an ice house dating from the early to mid 19th century. It is constructed of clunch and brick, featuring stone steps. The building has a rectangular shape, measuring approximately 7 metres by 2.8 metres, with a total height of 2.1 metres and an entrance facing southeast.

The ice house is situated underground, accessed via a flight of 12 stone steps. It has a cambered entrance, and the walls are made of coursed rubble chalk clunch, topped with a barrel-vaulted brick roof constructed of headers. Inside, the floor is paved with brick, and there is no visible drain. The northwestern wall contains a bricked-up opening measuring 0.89 metres wide and 1.09 metres above the floor. The roof features three circular brick apertures; the central one, which is 430 millimetres in diameter, appears to be original, while the other two were added later.

The ice house is depicted on the 1873 Ordnance Survey map and is believed to have been built for Rodmell Place, a large manor house that was demolished sometime between 1835 and 1873. The ice was likely sourced from a pond located about 250 metres away from the ice house. This structure is significant as an intact example of an early to mid 19th-century ice house, which is much rarer in Sussex compared to the more common circular domed type. It is also one of the few surviving structures associated with Rodmell Place, one of the two ancient manors of Rodmell that was demolished in the mid-19th century.