History
The village of Poynton, when driven through in the 21st Century, is much like any other village or small town. However, if you were to take a walk around and look closely at many of its features beyond the main road, strong traces of Poynton’s industrial heritage can be identified if you take the time to look closely enough.
Poynton lies on top of a north to south fault line called Red Rock, with the western side being depressed much deeper than the eastern side. It is the eastern side of the fault that led to the gradual formation of the village over the centuries due to the extraction of coal within relatively manageable depths.
This is no way a comprehensive report into the Icehouse, as there is sadly very little documented, but it is worth noting the importance of how coal mining brought affluence into the village, maybe not from the miners point of view, but certainly from the Lords and families that financed and controlled the local mining businesses.
Coal mining within Poynton has been documented with records dated 1589, but with better understanding of mining practices and technological advancements in the ability to pump larger volumes of water from deeper shafts, it was not until the 18th century that mining in the area took hold on a large scale.
Taking advantage of this lucrative source of revenue, a succession of wealthy families bought and sold leases to the mines up until the early twentieth century. These wealthy families, comprising of Lords and Ladies, owned and occupied two grand buildings on the Poynton Park estate, Poynton Hall and Towers.
There is also local detail to note which could help understand the use of the Icehouse. Up until 1900, there was a farm, Towers Yard Farm, directly opposite the Towers which the wealthy Anson family objected to on the grounds of smells drifting into the residence. It was subsequently demolished and moved further North along Black Road (now Towers Road). The vacant site was then utilised as the Colliery Estate Yard for the surrounding mines. Maintenance, storage and clerical works were conducted from here. After the decline of mining operations in Poynton, the Estate Yard gradually returned to agricultural use along with other commercial uses.
This leads to three potential sites which could have required the use of the Icehouse. Poynton Hall was reportedly built in 1760 for Sir George Warren and his family, who then had their previous residence of the Towers converted into a dairy and storage. From this, the Towers must pre-date the Hall. Both the Hall and Towers could have used the Icehouse. Towers Yard Farm was formed in 1835 and could very well have also required the use of the Icehouse.
Who financed, constructed and used the Icehouse is open to question, but with no records it is difficult to be certain. It is my assumption only, but with the location of the Icehouse in very close proximity to a small pond north of Towers Yard Farm, the ice would have been broken away and then loaded into the chamber via a circular hatch directly above the chamber. The pond appears to be supplied via a natural spring which can be seen to this day, and noted on OS maps. The pond would have maintained height via a sluice, again noted on maps. This may be the case now, but there was no evidence of the sluice aside from a wet muddy area. With a chamber full of ice, products sourced from Towers Yard Farm, or from other local suppliers could be stored for long periods of time, most likely for the later consumption of wealthy mine owners and operators.
I have a personal connection to Towers Yard Farm and the Icehouse in that I am a direct descendant of Lord Vernon and his great wealth…yeah, whatever! A family member lived in the converted Winding Engine House for Towers Pit and maintained the yard and surrounding land. I would spend many years getting in the way, helping out, crashing into cherished flower arrangements with large lawn mowers, and under-age drinking here. It was during the early 90s when I recall being told about the discovery of the Icehouse and how it was being cleared of years of accumulated debris and soil packed into the short walkways. True or not, I think I was told that a cow had stuck a leg through the top lid revealing the top of the chamber. Obviously, I took a look and it left a memory with me until this recent visit, so thanks to a certain chap from the local heritage and the ever trusted Alley, we made a visit nearly thirty years later.
Visit
As I’m sure most days or nights out begin with this hobby, an email popped through asking if I wanted to visit an Icehouse in Poynton, I know the exact one I thought! Not having been out for a long time, it was yes.
Rustle, clatter, click-click “Shall I pour my noodle water here?”
There’s nothing to write in great detail about the visit other than once Alleys meals on wheels arrived, drink and noodles consumed, we set off to the Icehouse with our heritage chap leading the way. It was certainly a wellies type job as the entrance suffers from run-off from the pond which brings in soil along with it. A tideline can also be seen on the stone wall at about four foot, so it certainly suffers from overflow of the pond.
As the saying goes, it’s easy when you know how, but the entrance is quite open, but equally hidden from sight if you are casually walking along the footpath. The construction of and bricks the Icehouse appears to have been done in three sections due to the way the stonework and bricks butt together.
Approaching the entrance, stone steps allow you to descend into the first chamber. I have heard of it being used as a preparation area as there is a stone trough set into the floor on the right with a recess in the wall directly above the trough. Maybe water discharged through this recess to clean meat before it went into storage. A small stone slab is just out of shot to the right where meat could have been prepared.
Food preparation area with trough and recess (Right side)
On the left is another stone slab, and a recess which is slightly higher than the opposite recess. I can’t see a reason for having this as a water feed, so maybe they were both used for storage of items. The floor is of solid construction, but unidentified as the mud was a few inches deep in places. The walls and arched roof are constructed from stone most likely quarried from any number of local stone and gravel pits. The cut of the stones in the roof have been done very nicely, and I have a feeling that this section predates that of the main chamber and the link tunnel. There may have been an earlier chamber which collapsed, or was too small, so a larger one was built and butted onto this stone tunnel. This join can be seen where the arch meets the brick wall quite abruptly with no attempt to dress or blend in nicely with the next section.
Food preparation area
Recess (Left side)
There is nothing much to document in the next section, but the change in construction material is noticeable. This section of tunnel joins the preparation area to the ice chamber and is simply nothing more than a tunnel. The later modifications to the Icehouse are evident with the use of brick, most likely coming from any of the brickyards within Poynton.
Joining tunnel showing the back wall
Turning right from the food preparation area, four stone capped brick steps allow access into the chamber through a gap no wider than two feet. Looking at the faces of the back wall and the face of the chamber entrance, it gives the impression that the chamber and back wall would have been constructed in an open area land which had been dug out and then the walls of the joining tunnel would have been built up butting into the chamber, back wall, and food preparation area. This would explain the features seen. The arched roof would then have been constructed using formers, then covered in earth.
Joining tunnel – Steps to chamber
There was once a wooden walkway inside the chamber, I know that because I was stood inside watching someone chop wooden stumps with a smoking ‘2ey’ chainsaw. It sounded like something out of the Chainsaw Massacre!
Entrance into chamber
The drop into the chamber wasn’t too high, but the slope and condition of the brickwork would have made the job quite a problem. A couple of rough shots sort of capture what is inside, but unfortunately don’t show the very well laid brick work. I always had it in my mind that it was a perfect sphere, but it has been constructed in two stages. The lower darker section has been laid first and doesn’t flare up as it rises, then the upper sections of bricks have been laid with use of broad arched formers.
I’m not sure how the drainage system works as it will be well below the water table, but clearly it worked somehow.
Chamber drain
Ice will have been removed from the pond and thrown down the hatch. Above this point, a dome can be seem as you walk along the footpath, but a casual look would lead you to think it was just another mound of soil.
The village of Poynton, when driven through in the 21st Century, is much like any other village or small town. However, if you were to take a walk around and look closely at many of its features beyond the main road, strong traces of Poynton’s industrial heritage can be identified if you take the time to look closely enough.
Poynton lies on top of a north to south fault line called Red Rock, with the western side being depressed much deeper than the eastern side. It is the eastern side of the fault that led to the gradual formation of the village over the centuries due to the extraction of coal within relatively manageable depths.
This is no way a comprehensive report into the Icehouse, as there is sadly very little documented, but it is worth noting the importance of how coal mining brought affluence into the village, maybe not from the miners point of view, but certainly from the Lords and families that financed and controlled the local mining businesses.
Coal mining within Poynton has been documented with records dated 1589, but with better understanding of mining practices and technological advancements in the ability to pump larger volumes of water from deeper shafts, it was not until the 18th century that mining in the area took hold on a large scale.
Taking advantage of this lucrative source of revenue, a succession of wealthy families bought and sold leases to the mines up until the early twentieth century. These wealthy families, comprising of Lords and Ladies, owned and occupied two grand buildings on the Poynton Park estate, Poynton Hall and Towers.
There is also local detail to note which could help understand the use of the Icehouse. Up until 1900, there was a farm, Towers Yard Farm, directly opposite the Towers which the wealthy Anson family objected to on the grounds of smells drifting into the residence. It was subsequently demolished and moved further North along Black Road (now Towers Road). The vacant site was then utilised as the Colliery Estate Yard for the surrounding mines. Maintenance, storage and clerical works were conducted from here. After the decline of mining operations in Poynton, the Estate Yard gradually returned to agricultural use along with other commercial uses.
This leads to three potential sites which could have required the use of the Icehouse. Poynton Hall was reportedly built in 1760 for Sir George Warren and his family, who then had their previous residence of the Towers converted into a dairy and storage. From this, the Towers must pre-date the Hall. Both the Hall and Towers could have used the Icehouse. Towers Yard Farm was formed in 1835 and could very well have also required the use of the Icehouse.
I have a personal connection to Towers Yard Farm and the Icehouse in that I am a direct descendant of Lord Vernon and his great wealth…yeah, whatever! A family member lived in the converted Winding Engine House for Towers Pit and maintained the yard and surrounding land. I would spend many years getting in the way, helping out, crashing into cherished flower arrangements with large lawn mowers, and under-age drinking here. It was during the early 90s when I recall being told about the discovery of the Icehouse and how it was being cleared of years of accumulated debris and soil packed into the short walkways. True or not, I think I was told that a cow had stuck a leg through the top lid revealing the top of the chamber. Obviously, I took a look and it left a memory with me until this recent visit, so thanks to a certain chap from the local heritage and the ever trusted Alley, we made a visit nearly thirty years later.
Visit
As I’m sure most days or nights out begin with this hobby, an email popped through asking if I wanted to visit an Icehouse in Poynton, I know the exact one I thought! Not having been out for a long time, it was yes.
Rustle, clatter, click-click “Shall I pour my noodle water here?”
There’s nothing to write in great detail about the visit other than once Alleys meals on wheels arrived, drink and noodles consumed, we set off to the Icehouse with our heritage chap leading the way. It was certainly a wellies type job as the entrance suffers from run-off from the pond which brings in soil along with it. A tideline can also be seen on the stone wall at about four foot, so it certainly suffers from overflow of the pond.
As the saying goes, it’s easy when you know how, but the entrance is quite open, but equally hidden from sight if you are casually walking along the footpath. The construction of and bricks the Icehouse appears to have been done in three sections due to the way the stonework and bricks butt together.
Approaching the entrance, stone steps allow you to descend into the first chamber. I have heard of it being used as a preparation area as there is a stone trough set into the floor on the right with a recess in the wall directly above the trough. Maybe water discharged through this recess to clean meat before it went into storage. A small stone slab is just out of shot to the right where meat could have been prepared.
Food preparation area with trough and recess (Right side)
On the left is another stone slab, and a recess which is slightly higher than the opposite recess. I can’t see a reason for having this as a water feed, so maybe they were both used for storage of items. The floor is of solid construction, but unidentified as the mud was a few inches deep in places. The walls and arched roof are constructed from stone most likely quarried from any number of local stone and gravel pits. The cut of the stones in the roof have been done very nicely, and I have a feeling that this section predates that of the main chamber and the link tunnel. There may have been an earlier chamber which collapsed, or was too small, so a larger one was built and butted onto this stone tunnel. This join can be seen where the arch meets the brick wall quite abruptly with no attempt to dress or blend in nicely with the next section.
Food preparation area
Recess (Left side)
There is nothing much to document in the next section, but the change in construction material is noticeable. This section of tunnel joins the preparation area to the ice chamber and is simply nothing more than a tunnel. The later modifications to the Icehouse are evident with the use of brick, most likely coming from any of the brickyards within Poynton.
Joining tunnel showing the back wall
Turning right from the food preparation area, four stone capped brick steps allow access into the chamber through a gap no wider than two feet. Looking at the faces of the back wall and the face of the chamber entrance, it gives the impression that the chamber and back wall would have been constructed in an open area land which had been dug out and then the walls of the joining tunnel would have been built up butting into the chamber, back wall, and food preparation area. This would explain the features seen. The arched roof would then have been constructed using formers, then covered in earth.
Joining tunnel – Steps to chamber
There was once a wooden walkway inside the chamber, I know that because I was stood inside watching someone chop wooden stumps with a smoking ‘2ey’ chainsaw. It sounded like something out of the Chainsaw Massacre!
Entrance into chamber
The drop into the chamber wasn’t too high, but the slope and condition of the brickwork would have made the job quite a problem. A couple of rough shots sort of capture what is inside, but unfortunately don’t show the very well laid brick work. I always had it in my mind that it was a perfect sphere, but it has been constructed in two stages. The lower darker section has been laid first and doesn’t flare up as it rises, then the upper sections of bricks have been laid with use of broad arched formers.
I’m not sure how the drainage system works as it will be well below the water table, but clearly it worked somehow.
Chamber drain
Ice will have been removed from the pond and thrown down the hatch. Above this point, a dome can be seem as you walk along the footpath, but a casual look would lead you to think it was just another mound of soil.
, so I understand why they are seen as a bad idea 
