Rainwater harvesting

[pvision]

I remember, in my parent's house, built 1905, there was a huge cistern, that took a good part of the basement. Something like 4000 gallons, connected to the gutters. I helped my father reclaiming the space, making an opening in the wall made of millstone and lime mortar, took me days with a hammer and pick.

That reminds me - a couple of  Victorian ice stores in London have been found, excavated & opened to the public:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-king-s-cross-ice-well-london-england

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/28/chilling-discovery-archaeologists-uncover-lost-ice-house-under-london-street

Nick Froome

 

[Gold]

One of the big business in the Adirondack  Mountains in the 1800’s was  ice for New York City. They would cover ponds with straw and be able to preserve the ice into June.