Chilled Orange Juice at Hanbury Hall

To my mind, the contraceptive pill, the motor car and the television were the three most socially influential inventions of modern times. Further down the list, but a candidate for a top ten position, would come the domestic refrigerator. The commercial exploitation of the refrigeration principle was not realised until 1877, when the world's first refrigerated ship, equipped with a system designed by Frenchman Ferdinand Carré, brought frozen meat to France from Argentina. The now ubiquitous fridge-freezer did not begin mass production until much later, at a General Electric factory in 1939.

Prior to this refrigeration, the only way of keeping things cold was to use ice. It was stored in ice wells or ice houses. When ice was not available, salting was the primary method of preserving meat. Records show that Britain imported ice by ship from Scandinavia right up until 1921, a trade that had begun about 100 years earlier. Before that time it was collected in the winter from any practicable place - ponds, rivers and canals, and even by crushing snow. The ice house at Hanbury Hall is a wonderful specimen. It's a shame that there aren't enough volunteers around to bring it back into use once more.

Built in the mid-18th century, it was sunk 11ft (3.5m) into the ground and topped with a mound of earth. Internally it is 20ft (6m) high and over 15ft (4.6m) across, making it roughly egg-shaped - clever brickwork of which Stephen Ballard would have been proud. The dome has a hatch in it (now covered with perspex, providing a useful skylight) and the entrance is a corridor nearly 28ft (8.5m) long. Melted ice drains through a grid in the brick floor.

To some extent it was possible to manufacture ice. Close to the ice house, two deep pools with sluice gates served as reservoirs and, on frosty nights, water would be released into a third, shallow pool, yielding an ice 'crop' to be cut the next morning. Additionally, after heavy snowfalls, all available hands were put to shovels. The snow was compressed using feet, and then flung down the hatch.

The Orangery at Hanbury Hall is a wide, nine-bay building, with a lot of glass at the front - sufficient to protect oranges and other frost-sensitive plants from all but the harshest of winters. Architecturally, its highlights are the intricate carvings of fruit and foliage. Built in the 1740s, it was on its own until the 1770s extension to the gardens embraced it. Over the past ten years the gardens at Hanbury Hall have been, not restored, but largely recreated in their original design, using detailed documentation and, when necessary, best guesses.

While you're there

Hanbury Hall is open from late March until late October, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only (plus Good Friday). The gardens open at noon and the house at 1:30pm.

Where to eat and drink

The Country Girl, just ¼ mile (400m) north of the start at Sharpway Gate, has lunchtime food, including a daily special. Children are welcome. Dogs are restricted to the beer garden. For visitors to Hanbury Hall and/or gardens, the tea room serves soup of the day, jacket potatoes and afternoon cream teas. The cream teas are home-made but, sadly, the chilled orange juice is not.

What to look for

Near the start, some interesting agricultural artefacts adorn the front of Knotts Farm, including a buggy, a butter churn and a cider press.