Like many large estates, Hanbury Hall had its own Ice House. It was constructed in the 18th century alongside the rest of the estate.
The Ice House has its entrance facing the North West and is approached by a relatively long 8.5 metre passage, around 1.8 metres in height. The entrance passage slopes down to the ice vhamber which is egg shaped and has a maximum diameter of almost 5 metres. At its base the chamber is about 3.5 metres below ground level. The ice would have been fed into the chamber through a central hatch. It is estimated rthat the Ice Well could have held around 24 tons of ice. The whole complex is covered by an earth bank on which several trees sit.
Unusually there is a dwelling (a keeper’s cottage?) almost outside the entrance to the Ice House, perhaps built originally as a garden pavilion and later extended. The remains of three ponds are also extant - two of which were used as reservoirs from which a small amount of water was fed off into a shallow ‘freezing pool’. This feature is so uncommon that they and the Ice House are now scheduled monuments.
Hanbury Hall is in the care of the National Trust and the Ice House (but not the associated ponds) can be viewed during opening hours.
