Grimsby Heritage - The Ice House

The Grimsby Ice Company was founded in the 19th century. Its purpose was to bring back natural ice from Norway in order to keep the catch of fish fresh.

The Ice House was built in 1900 and closed in 1990. The red brick building consisted of two factories separated by a passage. At its prime it produced 1,270 metric tons of ice every 24 hours. Water was taken from local bore holes and placed in moulds containing brine. When the ice was required conveyer belts took the three-hundred weight blocks to a crusher. The crushed ice was then taken by another conveyer belt to the quay side where it was dropped into the fish room of the trawlers via a chute. At a later stage cement mixers were converted to deliver the ice.

The Ice factory was a complete unit employing up to seventy people. The unit was manned 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Very seldom did any outside worker come into the factory.