Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Icehouse (ruined and filled in) in Chilston Park, Lenham.

Monument Types

• ICEHOUSE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1736 AD? to 1960 AD?)

Full description

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Ruined icehouse in Chilston park filled c1965. Situated near the main entrance gate of the park with a round pond, which presumably provided the ice, some 30m NW across the driveway. A north facing entrance of ragstone originally had a timber door. The chamber was domed in brick. (1) The ice house stands on a 80 m long bank that has been suggested as a prehistoric feature, but no evidence as yet been discovered to substantiate this(2)

Appears on maps from 1802, though the associated circular pond (used to supply the ice) appears on the 1769 Andrews, Dury and Herbert map, thus suggesting the icehouse was probably in place by 1769. Landscaping of the park by Thomas Best sometime after 1736 is probably a good date for its construction. In a ruinous state by 1960s, probabyl due to a combination of neglect, vandalism, and the stationing of troops during WWII. The exact nature of the structure is uncertain, but oral evidence suggests it has a brick-lined circular cross-section with an internal diameter of 2-3m, though the shape (conical, cylindrical, etc) is uncertain. It had a domed roof and a vaulted ragstone entrance tunnel. The upper surfaces were ragstone-faced and covered with earth and turf. The entrance superstructure is not standing, but a photograph show a Gothic design with an arched doorway, facing NW. The associated circular pond is c.50m in diameter and of unknown depth (but presumably quite shallow). (3)

In 2010 the icehouse was exposed. It was not fully emptied due to safety concerns. (4)

<1> Roaf, S. & Beamon, S. P., 1990, The Ice Houses of Britain, Beamon, S and Roaf, S 1990 'Icehouses of Britain' p.312 (Monograph). SKE8293.

<2> Lenham Archaeological Society, 2006, LENHAM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY: HEATH COUNTRYSIDE CORRIDOR REPORT (Unpublished document). SKE13583.

<3> Archaeology South-East, 2007, Chilston Icehouse, Chilston Park, Lenham, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE16406.

<4> Lenham Archaeological Society, 2011, Discovering Ancient Lenham: Volume 1 Edition 3 (Serial). SKE16752.

Sources and further reading

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