Buckland House was formerly in the Wellesley family, and Mrs Wellesley recalls anecdotes of the ice harvest: "A team of eight grounds staff would break the pond ice with picks and saws before placing it in a punt.
"Despite the often bitter temperatures, they would enjoy the exhausting work. And as one worker recalled, 'we would be given warm beer and baccy for our pipes'.
"The broken ice would then be relayed to the shore before being whisked away in wheelbarrows at great speed to the icehouse up the hill. It would then be packed hard, making maximum use of the interior.
"From there, smaller more manageable lumps of ice would be delivered to the house for food preservation and iced confection. The kitchen larder was fitted with "ice-drawers" in which the ice was deposited."
The ice would often last through the summer months and the last recorded filling was on 6 April 1913.
The portico of the brick-built Buckland icehouse mirrors that of the Palladian style of the Mansion House and is made of vermiculated limestone.
The icehouse itself is a cup and dome design, and to increase insulation, it has been built partially underground with a thatched roof.
The porch has a triangular crowning gable to the front with entry to each of its 3 sides - with semi-circular arches.
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