Wolseley Centre Ice House - Wolseley Bridge, Nr Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK - Cave Entrances (Artificial) on Waymarking.com

The ice house is located in the grounds of the Wolseley Centre at Wolseley Bridge on the A51 near Rugeley, Staffordshire.

The Wolseley Centre is the Headquarters for the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, the county's leading nature conservation charity. It is an award winning centre, set in 26 acres of beautiful grounds where you can explore interesting features and wildlife-friendly display gardens.

The centre is set in the grounds of the former Wolseley Hall, which had belonged to the Wolseley family since before the Conquest. It was demolished in the mid-20th century and the former walled kitchen garden now contains housing. The site is now in use as a nature reserve and the headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Only the ice house remains. It is located near to the remains of the old kitchen garden buildings. It is built into an earth embankment and is accessed by a descending steps. It is rectangular in shape and is lined with what looks like ashlar blocks rather than bricks which could mean it is pre1800’s. It has been restored and the ‘pit’ has been filled in.
Source: (visit link)

'The grounds were once the ancestral home of the Wolseley family, now managed with wildlife in mind, yet still cater for people of all ages and mobility.
"The land was held by the Wolseley family from the 11th century until the mid-1990s. At one stage the estate contained a medieval deer park. Celia Fiennes reported 'a well wooded deer park, fish ponds, gardens good, both gravel and green walks, good fruit well dressed and pruned on well covered walls'.
There were major alterations to the hall and offices by Trubshaw in 1821. A plan of 1826 shows the gardens enclosed within a loop of the river Trent which has been canalised in part to form a pool, screened by trees enclosing a walk or ride to north and west, creating a visa from the west front of the hall across a small formal garden and lawn.
The 1885 Ordnance Survey map shows a two acre rectangular, quartered kitchen garden containing three buildings."' (visit link)

Ice houses were man-made structures used to store food before before the invention of refrigerators. Ice and snow was collected from frozen lakes and ponds during the winter months and compacted in the ice house, that was often insulation with straw or sawdust.

Only wealthy landowners could afford to have an ice house built. They were usually built under ground, into rock or built at ground level and then covered with earth to aid insulation.

Ice houses varied in size shape, and design, but all featured a deep chamber for the ice, and usually with a soak way to deal with the melted ice, a corridor leading from the outside, mostly brick-lined with one or more connecting doors and a domed brick-lined ceiling.
The ice houses would usually be positioned facing north to keep the structure as cold as possible. (visit link)

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