The Monk Bar Ice-House
Tucked away on the Bar Wall rampart behind 2 Monkgate is York's last surviving icehouse, a relatively common sight by the eighteenth and nineteenth century the ice inside was not stored for consumption, but rather for preserving other foods, and in the creation of ice cream, sorbet and luxury drinks.
The Ice-House likely dates from the early nineteenth century and is of a “Cup and Dome” construction, with a brick, cavity walled structure built over a shaft that is dug into the Bar Walls rampart. It's not known who it belonged to, exactly when it was built, or why. There are 2 likely explanations:
- it belonged to one of the large houses in the area
- it was built for someone connected to the ice trade, supplying hotels and public houses, or perhaps confectionery, or another food- or drink-related trade
Routine inspections of the Ice-House in December 2024 identified some concerning structural issues, a number of mortar joints had failed causing a noticeable bulge to develop on the north-east side of the structure. Additionally, where cement had been used in previous repairs it had exacerbated damage to some of the original bricks. Due to the likelihood of further deterioration should the issues be left unaddressed a conservation programme was agreed with Historic England, and work began in May 2024.
Stonemasons from the Ancient Monuments Team carefully dismantled the northeastern section of the Ice House, salvaging as many of the historic bricks as possible. However, as cementitious mortar had been used in previous repairs a number were not suitable for re use, and had to be replaced by new handmade bricks. In addition, across the structure any individual bricks which had failed were replaced. Finally, open mortar joints were reported in lime mortar, and lime haunching was added to the base to reduce water ingress into the structure.
