AN underground chamber, thought to be a Victorian icehouse, has been discovered during work on a new car park at the Bishop's Palace in Hereford.
The ground opened up in front of the builders' digger, revealing a chamber with dry stone walls and an arched roof, about 5ft wide and nearly 8ft long.
"The Cathedral archaeologist thinks it is probably an icehouse, a subterranean chamber popular in Victorian times, designed to keep winter ice for use in summer," said Nico Vaughan, of Archenfield Archaeology, which inspected the vault.
"It does seem to have had a change of use during its lifetime, as a culvert was inserted into the north wall and clearly drains into, rather than out of, the chamber."
The chamber, which will be strengthened to avoid collapse, has been fenced off while work on the car park continues.
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