An Urban Ice Well at Gravesend

In April 2001 a hole suddenly appeared at the side of the road in Horn Yard near the junction with Bank Street, Gravesend (NGR TQ 64813 74367). The opening revealed a deep circular brick structure, the domed top of which had failed and triggered the subsidence.

The site was brought to the attention of the writer almost simultaneously by Alan Ridgers and Victor Smith of the Gravesend Historical Society and also Mr Tony Atherton of the Gravesham Highways Department who readily gave permission for the site to be investigated.

A visit and measured survey by the writer and members of the Kent Underground Research Group on Sunday 6th of May indicated that the structure was the remains of a nineteenth-century ice well consisting of a circular double skinned brick shaft (or well) 3.55m in diameter. The original depth could not be determined because of the large amount of fallen debris, the lowest attainable point being 5.9m from the road surface. It was estimated that around another 2.0m was probably buried beneath the rubble.[pg346]

Parts of the domed roof were still intact, but most had fallen-in following the initial subsidence. The original top of the dome would have been approximately 1.5-2.0m below ground level. The top of the well had been connected to the surface by a short square shaft estimated to be about 1.5m wide. The remains of this access shaft were observed when the site was first seen by the Highways Department personnel before further collapse destroyed it.

Access to the top of an ice well was essential for efficient operation. When it was in use this shaft would have been sealed with a thick wooden lid which would have been opened to allow the filling of the well with ice, and then periodically opened for short periods to release the warmer air that collected at the top of the dome.

At the bottom of the western side of the well was an opening 1.7m high and 0.7m wide leading to two access passages. Evidence of a wooden frame, constructed to take a thick wooden insulating door was still discernible. As can be seen from Fig. 1 the short brick passage to the west led to a short flight of steps to a landing where a second flight of steps continued upward but was blocked with brick rubble from above. It is assumed that there were originally three or possibly four flights to give access from the cellar or basement of the building above.

The second passage heading roughly north was also found to be filled with brick rubble and other debris including old electrical equipment, rusting tin cans, gasket material and off-cuts from a form of waterproof fabric. The metal items, dating between the 1930s and 1950s, were in very poor condition and disintegrated at the lightest touch. It could be seen that the passage climbed straight ahead and, although not visible because of the amount of fill, it is fairly certain that the tunnel contained a continuous flight of steps to the surface. From the dates of the fill material it would appear that this passage was at least partly open and used as rubbish pit in the mid-twentieth century.

A small-unlined alcove in the natural chalk was observed in this passage 0.7m wide by 0.5m deep. Again, the full depth could not be measured but it is probable that it was the same depth as the tunnel itself (approx. 1.7m). The alcove contained a hard stone shelf 0.3m down from the top, which contained a single central drain hole. This recess was far too small for a ‘cold store’ area as can be seen in some other elaborate ice wells such as that at Green-Street-Green,[fn1] and it is thought that this may have been a convenient storage area for ice-picks, shovels and other similar equipment.

Ice wells were usually associated with country estates, the ice being collected from a local pond or lake in the winter. If no lake was available packed snow was used. Urban ice stores were generally supplied with imported ice from Norway or America until mechanically produced ice was more widely available. In 1844 the U.K. imported 300,000 tons of ice from Norway alone.[fn2]

Trades that required ice for their business, such as confectioners etc., would usually keep the ice in converted cellars or basements. The construction of a classic-shaped ice well was very rare in a heavily built-up area because it was usually impossible to find enough open ground space to sink the construction shafts for the well and the access passages.

However, in 1850, a large fire destroyed the area to the east of Gravesend High Street and Bank Street was built as part of the reconstruction. The opportunity afforded by the clearing of the area prior to rebuilding was taken and the ice [pg347][pg348]well was constructed, the work being completed before the erection of the new buildings.

[fg]jpg|Fig. 1 Survey drawing of the ice well at Horn Yard, Gravesend.|Image[/fg]

In 1855 it is thought that the ice stored in the well was used by a fishmonger. An entry in the Land Tax Returns for 1910 for number 1, Bank Street, gives the owner as Clara Moore and the occupier as Percy Joyce.[fn3] It is described as:

‘Ice well, workshop and dwelling house’ and states that there was: ‘…a right of way to the occupier of access through the entrance to the ice well which entrance is in the yard of 13 High Street’.

The premises at that time had a frontage of 26ft (7.9m) consisting of a brick and slate house and shop with a van store, with access to the shop and works at the rear. The tax return valued it at £150 at that time.

Shortly after the examination and survey of the remains of the ice well, the site was filled and made safe, and the road reinstated. The writer would like to thank Sandra Soder of the Gravesend Historical Society for supplying background information and G. Baker of Gravesham Council Planning Department for supplying the details of the Land Tax Return.

Rod LeGear

[fn]1|Caiger, J.E.L., 1965, ‘An ice-house at Green-Street-Green, Darenth’, Archaeologia Cantiana, 80, pp. 221-226.[/fn]

[fn]2|Ouren, T., 1979, ‘The Norwegian Ice Trade’, Proceedings of Symposium on Ice Trading at Sea, National Maritime Museum, London, pp. 31-40.[/fn]

[fn]3|National Archives IR/58/258/31, entry 102.[/fn][pg349]