Reasons for Designation
The early-C19 ice house in Brandon Little Woods, on the former Brandon Hall Estate in Brandon, is recommended for designation in Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: the ice house forms part of the former Brandon Hall Estate, centred on Brandon Hall, formerly a shooting lodge and rebuilt in 1825 as a manor house
* Architectural interest: the ice house is well-built from red brick, and dates from before 1840
* Intactness: the structure is intact and in generally good condition
* Context: the ice house retains its historic relationships with Brandon Hall, its kitchen garden, ice pond and pleasure grounds, which form a coherent grouping
Details
BRANDON AND BRETFORD
1725/0/10004 Ice House in Brandon Little Woods
14-JUN-10
II
An icehouse, dating from circa 1825, on the former Brandon Hall estate. It is associated with a pond directly to its east, which would have been the source of the ice stored within the ice house.
EXTERIOR: The external structure consists of a brick-built, vaulted entrance tunnel, the red brick laid in English bond. The main body of the ice house is set under an earth mound, with a circular access hole towards the top.
INTERIOR: The entrance tunnel leads to a brick-lined ice chamber, with an arched opening between the two parts of the structure. The precise form of the bottom of the ice chamber is unclear as it was largely filled with debris at the time of assessment in 2010, though the chamber is broadly egg-shaped.
HISTORY: The current Brandon Hall, in whose former grounds the ice house is situated, appears to have originated, perhaps as far back as the C17, as a hunting, and later shooting lodge for the nearby Brandon Manor. In 1825, Brandon Woods and the buildings therein were purchased by the Beech family, who lived in the old Manor whilst the former shooting lodge was rebuilt in late-Regency style, to become Brandon Hall. It appears likely that the pleasure gardens, walled kitchen garden and the ice house, all visible on the 1882 Ordnance Survey map, were constructed at this time, to serve the new residence, as they are clearly situated in a planned relationship to the house they served. The house remained a private home until 1946, when it was converted to a hotel, in which use it remained in 2009. Brandon Little Woods, in which the ice house is situated, are now in separate ownership.
SOURCES
Brandon and Bretford Village Design Statement (2000), at www.rugby.gov.uk/downloads/Brandon_Village_Design_Statement.pdf (Accessed 30/11/09)
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
The early-C19 ice house in Brandon Little Woods, on the former Brandon Hall Estate in Brandon, is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: the ice house forms part of the former Brandon Hall Estate, centred on Brandon Hall, formerly a shooting lodge and rebuilt in 1825 as a manor house
* Architectural interest: the ice house is well-built from red brick, and dates from before 1840
* Intactness: the structure is intact and in generally good condition
* Context: the ice house retains its historic relationships with Brandon Hall, its kitchen garden, ice pond and pleasure grounds, which form a coherent grouping
