Building record 2261 - Ice House at Tilstone Lodge

Ice House at Tilstone Lodge, off Nantwich Road. Early 19th century. Red brick, with timber roof. Short barrel-vaulted tunnel leading to circular chamber. For a long time, there were few ways of preserving food other than salting and pickling. From the 17th century, the idea of an Ice house was introduced to large estates. They were structures built to house blocks of ice to prevent them from melting. They were well insulated and partly underground. The ice was obtained from ponds and lakes frozen in the winter months. Sometimes fields were deliberately flooded by farmers to provide extra income.