Cold room, coldstore, walkin cold store, walk-in or walk in?

George Bernard Shaw famously described Britain and America as “two great nations separated by a common language”. A great example of this is ‘a refrigeration chamber designed for storing products in an environment below the outside temperature,’ better known as a ‘cold room’, or a ‘cold store,’ or ‘walk-in,’ or maybe a ‘walkin cold store,’ depending on which flavour (or flavor) of English you happen to speak.

Ancient remains uncovered by archaeologists in what was then Mesopotamia suggest there were ice pits as far back as 1780 BC, while the Romans used to have ‘snow shops,’ probably used for preserving food rather than for aiding winter sports! In the 19th century Carlsberg in Denmark would harvest ice in the winter and store it cellars so they could brew lager in the summer.

It seems fair to say refrigeration has been one of mankind’s more enduring and versatile discoveries. And fascinating to consider the many different terms we have, even in one language, for a room or chamber that is cold.

What do you call yours?