An igloo on the Isle of Wight?! Well ok, not quite. This icehouse is one of the few remaining features of John Nash's East Cowes Castle. Ice was collected during the winter and placed in the icehouse between layers of insulating straw for use during the summer.
The icehouse would not have been used as a refridgerator as such; during the summer, ice would have been removed and used to chill and prepare foods. A brick tunnel (no longer present, having collapsed) would have led to the four metre high chamber.
In 1989, a hole in the roof was repaired and the internals of the icehouse were loosely filled with chalk so that the structure of the building would be preserved until such a time that it might be restored. No further restoration has taken place.
The ice house is situated along Sylvan Avenue and sits adjacent to residential buildings but is not on private land. Please do not under any circumstances climb on the icehouse itself.
