Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Event ID 561409
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/561409
Like many large country mansions, Floors Castle had an icehouse, situated immediately to the west of Floor Home Farm. The icehouse is a small building with a barrel-vaulted roof covered over with earth for additional insulation. Only the gable is exposed and has a single door.
For the rich, an icehouse afforded a means of keeping fresh food such as fowl and game for longer, either through the winter months or in summer when the heat caused things to spoil quickly. Large slabs of ice would be stored inside, often packed in straw for added insulation. Ice was greatly desired for dinner parties, as intricate ice-sculpture centre-pieces, as well as for preparing dishes and, of course, for chilling wine.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
