vintage ice house to store ice ; before refrgerator was discovered

Vintage Ice House editorial stock image ...

dreamstime.com

"Ice House, Lydiard Park Mansion, Swindon." English Heritage.

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"Cross Sectional View of Ice House Plans, Early 19th Century"

"Ice House. Hampton National Historic Site." Historic American Building Survey, National Park Service.

Three-dimensional laser scan of a early- to mid-nineteenth century icehouse at Beaulieu Estate, Hampshire. Posted by archaeovision.eu.

A pre-Civil War ice house in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Courtesy Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

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This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.

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The 1790 Ice House at Hampton Mansion

November 25, 2012 by Vic

Whenever I stay with my family in north Baltimore, I visit Hampton National Historic Site to walk along its extensive grounds. Construction on Hampton Hall began after 1783 and continued well into the 1800s. The Ridgely family once owned 25,000 acres of land, as well as a number of commercial, industrial, and agricultural interests that allowed them to live well and entertain lavishly. They were able to serve ice cream in July with stored ice, an expensive and time-consuming commodity in 19th century America and Great Britain.

Hampton Mansion. The ice house sits at the right (not visible in this image.) Image @vsanborn

Hampton Mansion’s ice house is located near the circular drive and in front of what once was the laundry. From a distance it resembles a grassy knoll.

Ice House at Hampton NHS. Image @vsanborn

Ice House entrance. Image @vsanborn

The entrance is open to visitors. I clambered down the steep stairs with Alan, a park ranger who kindly guided me down the dark pit.

Image @National Park Service

In winter, slaves or paid workers cut large blocks of ice from frozen ponds on the property. They handed them up the hill on sledges. The ice was shovelled through a hatch into the cone-shaped cavity that extends 34 feet below ground.” – Text, National Park Service

Steep stairs down the ice house. Image @vsanborn

Men entered the cavity through the passage and packed the ice down, often pouring water over it to make it freeze. As the ice melted the mass slid down the cone-shaped pit but stayed compact.” –  Text, National Park Service

When the Ridgelys needed ice, a servant would descend into the pit, chip off what was needed, and hoist or carry the load up a ladder and out the passage.” – Text, National Park Service

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