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Grendon Ice House, North Warwickshire
Kevin Wright
'I
moved to a small village in North Warwickshire called
Grendon (near Atherstone) in Dec 2005. The part of the village I live in
is actually old Grendon, and this has significant history. The church
which is located about 200 yards from my house has parts dating back to
the 1200s. There used to be a large manor house nearby also, but this
was demolished in 1933. It is extremely rural where we live, on a road
that many people seldom venture down.
In the woods opposite our house is
an extremely well preserved Ice house (I believe). The structure is made
from uniform red bricks with an extremely well proportioned domed
ceiling. The entire structure is buried under a thin covering of earth,
which probably explains how it is so well preserved. The structure is
now surrounded by many large trees and I fear the root systems could
have a detrimental effect on the structures’
integrity. In recent years it
also seems to have become a dumping ground for much domestic waste, and
the structure is somewhat full of old paint tins, old boilers and the
like.
The land the structure is on is
conservation ground I believe, but I am unsure as to who owns the land.
However it is not fenced off and a track runs thru the woods linking my
road (Farm Lane) to a road which runs parallel. The track is used by
motor vehicle which again concerns me as this track runs extremely close
to the structure.
The structure consists of a low
and narrow arched entrance, which is approximately 3.5 metres long and
1.5 metres high. Once thru this entrance chute, you enter the main body
of the structure, which I estimate to be 3-4 metres in diameter, and
maybe as high as 5 meters (difficult to verify with the rubbish littered
inside).
Ideally I would like to take
measures to protect the structure, but have no idea how to go about
this? I feel this structure is far too good to be allowed to crumble'.
kevinawright@tiscali.co.uk
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The Ice House entrance
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The Ice House ceiling which
looks in good condition |
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