Great Yarmouth's ice house revamp back under spotlight

But soon this Grade II listed building could be used for tightrope walking, acrobatics and juggling as part of a major revamp project. 

The Ice House in Great Yarmouth's Southtown is coming back under the spotlight, with plans to make changes to the 19th century structure lodged with the borough council.

The ice houses behind steam ferry Resolute in 1884. The Southtown mill can be seen in the background. (Image: Supplied)

It is to become an arts and circus skills venue run by Out There Arts, which has received £2m in funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the project.

Revised designs for the layout of the building have been proposed, which include relocating an external staircase and internal lift as well as installing heat pumps, a balcony for the outside and an internal mezzanine.

READ MORE: See inside Great Yarmouth's mysterious Ice House

Out There Arts hold an annual festival in Great Yarmouth in the summer (Image: JMA Photography)

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Out There Arts has said the "imaginative and creative" regeneration of the site will further develop the town’s reputation as the "capital of circus in the UK" as well as further link the town’s fishing and circus heritage.

Great Yarmouth's herring fishing fleet moored outside the Ice House in the 1960s (Image: Newsquest)

While the town's long association with the fishing industry is well known, its links to circus performing are less so.

The Herring fishing fleet tied up next to the Ice House in the 1950s (Image: Newsquest)

But Yarmouth has long been a destination for circus acts since its rise to prominence as a coastal resort in the Victorian era.

Outside the Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth (Image: Newsquest)

It is also home to Britain's only surviving circus building, the Hippodrome, which was built in 1903.

The Ice House is not as well known as some of the town's other historic sites, such as the Hippodrome, but as it is a listed building - and because Great Yarmouth Borough Council owns the land - permission for the scheme is required.

Officers have recommended it be approved and the decision will be made at a planning meeting next week.

The thatched Ice House after it became a grain store (Image: Newsquest)

FROM FISHING TO ACROBATICS

The Ice House was once a key part of Great Yarmouth's thriving fishing industry and was used to store freshly caught fish packed in ice.

An old picture of the Ice House taken in 1882 (Image: Newsquest)

The catch would then be transported to London's Billingsgate fish market to be sold.

The building had a capacity for 42,500 cubic metres which meant packed ice could stay frozen for months, ensuring a steady supply of fresh herring to the capital and beyond.

Inside the Ice House (Image: Archant 2021)

But modern advances in freezer technology made it redundant and it later was used as a grain store.

Plans to transform it into an arts and cultural centre were approved in 2021.