Ice House in Hotham Park

Hotham Park was named after Sir Richard Hotham who is regarded as the founder of Bognor Regis.  Built in 1793, in what was once part of the Hotham Park grounds, the Ice House can be found just to the front of the Edward Bryant School on London Road.

The original use of ice houses was to store ice during the winter for use the following summer.  The ice was packed in straw below ground level and under the cover of trees to provide an element of shade.   This proved to be an incredibly clever method of storing ice before the age of refrigeration!