historical house
Unknown, 1770
Manor House Gardens (Old Road), SE13 5SY
Grade II listed ice well and underground chambers (1770) in Manor House Gardens park, which provided ice for nearby Manor House. Cited in 2002 Civic Trust Awards.
Hither Green, Blackheath, Lee
122, 261, 321, 178
The ice house is accessed by a flight of steps with a hand rail.
A successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Board enabled the restoration of the gardens and its built facilities. Works included the re-establishment of the original vistas from the Manor House, the introduction of a walled flower garden, the restoration of the lake and installation of a fountain. In addition the original ice-house has been restored and is open to the public on the first and third Sunday of the month from April to September. Other new features include a popular cafeteria, multi-sports ball court and tennis courts as well as a children's playground.
The restored park was officially opened on 11 June 2000. The Gardens have been awarded the highly prestigious Green Flag Award, designed to reward standards of excellence in parks and green spaces, on several occasions.
The ice house is 250 years old. It was built in the NW corner of Manor House Gardens to serve the nearby Manor House built by Thomas Lucas, a wealth merchant. Originally the ice house sat alongside other estate buildings, now long demolished, under a landscaped mound of earth. The corridor to the ice house would probably have been used as a cold store. Around 1900 it was used as stabling for a local builder's ponies and served as an air raid shelter in WWII. The ice house was restored by architects Timpson Manley for the Lee Manor Society when the gardens received lottery funds to restore its original features.
