Ice Houses in Sussex

Petworth House Ice House  R.G. Martin, Sussex Industrial History 13, 1982

Ice Houses in Brighton  R.G. Martin, Sussex Industrial History  14, 1984/5

Ice Houses in Sussex R.G. Martin, Sussex Industrial History 24, 1994

From  SUSSEX INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY: A Field Guide

ICE HOUSES
Ice­houses predate the refrigerator as a means of storing ice for preserving food. 
They consist of chambers wholly or partly subterranean and suitably insulated from above. 
Most examples so far surveyed are in the grounds of large houses and so on private property. 
Visits therefore require special permission.

Bognor SZ 936995
Situated in London Road adjacent to the Public Library and visible from the outside. 
This house served the Hotham Estate, dating from c.1797. 
Now restored and maintained by Bognor U.D.C.

Petworth House SU 976222
The most impressive arrangement discovered in Sussex, a group of three very large chambers each about 30 ft. deep, situated beneath the old Fire­Engine House belonging to the Petworth Estate.

Arundel Castle TQ 015075
A square chamber of late construction.

West Dean House SU 862119
An impressive example with a paved 'loading­bay' of its own.

Others are known at: 
Midhurst (SU 888215); 
Duncton (SU 965167); 
Goodwood House (SU 886088); 
Ades, Chailey (TQ 401194); 
Stansted Park (SU 762103) and 
Battle Abbey (TQ 750157).

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Revised: December 21, 2014
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