Ice factory is subject of IoR lecture
18th October 2014
UK: The history of the Grimsby Ice Factory and the iconic refrigeration system it still contains is the subject of this month’s Institute of Refrigeration paper.
The talk by Chris Lester of the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology and IoR past president Guy Hundy will chart the history of the building, illustrating its equipment and describing the plans for its future. Included are video clips from filmed material taken during the last year of operation.
Grimsby Ice Factory was built in 1901 to provide ice for the town’s flourishing fishing industry and, at one time, was the largest such facility in the world. The factory closed in 1990 and is now derelict but the significance of this Grade II* listed building today is that it is the last surviving example of industrial-scale ice-making with its equipment still in-situ. Amongst the surviving refrigeration equipment is four huge J&E Hall ammonia compressors dating back to a 1930 refit.
The Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust is a voluntary organisation seeking to preserve the building and its contents on a sustainable basis. The Ice Factory has the support of the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, English Heritage and international recognition by the World Monument Fund. Bringing the public into a future rejuvenated museum and activity centre opens the door to the possibility of an educational facility centred on refrigeration technology.
The paper presentation takes place on November 6 at 17.45 in Room 110, Roberts Building University College London, Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7JE.
The presentation is also being broadcast as a webinar which can be accessed by registering here.
The paper can be downloaded from the IoR website.
Further reading:
New Ice Factory photos uncovered – February 21, 2014
UK: The Cooling Post has uncovered new information and stunning new previously unpublished photos of the Grimsby Ice Factory and its unique and historic refrigeration equipment. Read more…
Iconic refrigeration frozen in time – March 1, 2014
The Cooling Post has uncovered a huge amount of new information, photographs and drawings of the historic Grimsby Ice Factory, enough to begin a new three-part feature on the history of the Grimsby Ice Factory and the unique refrigeration equipment it contains. In this first part, we take a general look at the history of the Ice Factory and its refrigeration systems. In part 2 we will explore in more detail the workings of the 1930s J&E Hall equipment, much of which still remains within the building, and then, in Part 3, delve further back to information that has been unearthed on the first and original refrigeration system that has long since been lost to history. Read more…
Frozen in time – Part 2 – March 10, 2014
In Part 2 of our special feature on the Grimsby Ice Factory, the Cooling Post takes a more in-depth look at the 80-year-old refrigeration system still contained within this historic building. Read more…
Grimsby Ice Factory – Part 3 – March 23, 2014
In Part 2 of this series on the Grimsby Ice Factory we looked at the 1930s J&E Hall refrigeration installation which replaced the original steam-driven compressors. In this article we look at that original equipment and how it worked within the Ice Factory. Read more…
