Trust helps preserve historic ice house (From Western Telegraph)

Trust helps preserve historic ice house

A historic ice house which was once the sole means of cooling fresh produce on a Pembrokeshire country estate has been preserved by the National Trust.

The landmark structure in Lodge Park Wood, Stackpole, stored ice and hard-packed snow in the days before refrigeration.

A scheme to preserve it was one of four National Trust projects granted European Rural Development Fund finance.

The £94,000-scheme, 50% grant-aided by the ERDF, included the construction of a new toilet block at Broadhaven Beach, improved access to the beach and the upgrading of a lakeside footpath at Stackpole.

Ian Bennett, the Trusts head warden in South Pembrokeshire, says the projects enhance the charitys commitment to increase access to the countryside. One of the core remits of the National Trust is to create better access in the countryside and these projects are important elements in that commitment, he says.

The Trust has not attempted to replicate the original design of the ice house. Despite extensive research, it has yet to discover exactly what the structure would have resembled.

A wooden roof has been built over the deep conical-shaped limestone structure until a time when it can be rebuilt. It was never our intention to copy what we thought it looked like, we merely wanted to produce a viewpoint until a time when we can replicate the original design, says Ian Bennett.

The ice house is located in a frost hollow and its underground design ensured it remained cool throughout the year. Straw was packed between the layers of ice, used to cool larders and dairies.

Access to the site has been improved and information panels erected. The Countryside Council for Wales helped fund the roof covering because of its potential as a resting place for bats.

New steps have been built between Broadhaven Beach and its car park to make it easier and safer for visitors to access.

There is also a new limestone toilet block at this location incorporating a visitors information point. It replaces the original wooden structure.

The ERDF grant has also enabled the Trust to put in place the missing link in its footpath network overlooking the Bosherston Lily Pools. A path has been created between the Eight Arch Bridge and Grassy Bridge, allowing wheelchair access between the site of the former Stackpole Court and the Broadhaven outlet.

The four projects took two years to complete and involved National Trust staff and contractors.