Tim Buxbaum, sb, A5, 32pp Shire

Icehouses were designed to store ice in bulk for summertime use in the days before refrigeration. This book examines icehouses in Britain, where they were built in increasing numbers from the early seventeenth century, initially to provide chilled refreshment for the wealthy. By the mid nineteenth century most country estates would have had one. Their design improved as scientific knowledge increased and, although the majority of icehouses remained plain, some exuberant structures were built. Commercial icehouses were erected to serve confectioners, grocers and the fishing industry, for which huge quantities of ice were imported from North America and Norway.


Tim Buxbaum is a chartered architect in private practice in Suffolk, where he lives with his wife Ruth and two sons. Much of his professional work is conservation-orientated, but he also designs new buildings. This Album stems from his interest in garden architecture