Ice House, Gosford Estates

This is an early 19th-century ice house situated within an earthen mound and featuring an arcaded grotto ante-chamber. The structure is built from random rubble with decorative rufa and pebble rockwork, rising to a gable with an arcade. A tall, round-headed arch is flanked by two narrower arches, all with pebble surrounds, tufa columns, and bases. Inside the grotto, there are benches. A wooden door provides access to the ice chamber, fitted with large iron hinges. A pedestal surmounts the mound. The ice house's rustic tufa rockwork is comparable to that found on a curling house and a separate grotto located at Aberlady Manse. It also shares similarities with the shell grotto at Newhailes, which was designed earlier and achieves a similar effect. It forms an A-group with several other buildings within the Gosford Estate—see notes for Gosford House for further details.