Found a toilet?

[Athers1971]

So, I’ve had to take down the timber and glass that formed a ‘homemade’ greenhouse in the rear garden. It’s built on a dwarf wall of limestone and rubble like the house. It had suffered from rain water damage from next doors garage that it leans against. The gutters were broken and when I cleaned them out I removed a whole washing up bowl of glass pieces.

At the end of the greenhouse is a ‘solid structure’, no glass, roofed and stone built. It looks like a shed attached to the greenhouse.

Today was the first time I could get Into this end shed part, having cleared safe access by removing all the glass etc.

By the end wall I found what looks like a waste pipe in the ground, and what seems to me the evidence of a former toilet from the markings on the ground. There is also a tall water pipe to the right that we have no idea what it is connected to.

Does this look like a Victorian toilet? What do I do with the water pipe to investigate further bearing in mind it’s about 20ft from the house?

 

[Feltwell]

Yep, it's an old outside lavatory that would have had a high-level toilet in it, the mark from the pan on the floor is clear and it would have had a downward facing outlet that would have been cemented in to that clay/salt glazed socket in the floor against the wall.

You've still got the feed pipe to the cistern in place - in fact that may be the remains of the ball cock inlet valve still on the end,! - and you can see on the wall where the cistern was.

Is the water feed pipe still connected? I suspect not or the remains of the cistern inlet valve would be leaking, but if you want to be really sure, turn your water supply off at the valve in the pavement outside your house and undo that compression fitting halfway up, before turning the water back on again. Easy enough to undo if it is still live!

Is the soil pipe connected? Stick a hosepipe down it if it is clear and start lifting manhole covers. I suspect it probably is.

 

[Cubist]

When I began to prepare the old corrugated iron shed, situated on the edge of our formal garden, for the firewood storage use I thought it was intended, I was rather surprised to find, alongside bits of horse harness, some old window frames and, of all things, an Avery Sack Scale, the remnants of a lime-ash floor and a couple of dozen house bricks. Needing to get the wood under cover I abandoned further investigation until the following year.

When I came back to it and began excavating the earth that had washed down the hillside to invade one corner of the shed I began to discover a considerable amount of glass-ware and bits of metal together with the remains of many old batteries and broken pottery. Digging inside the shed I also found more bricks and lime-ash but also discovered a few heavy nails and some shaped wood that was crumbling to dust.

Penny drops, I'd found the outdoor privvy - there was no running water here until the 1980s, so the facilities consisted of a hole in the ground with a plank across the top. Naturally, I stopped digging.

 

[Feltwell]

I saw a place once that had a two-seat outdoor privy, for that sociable feeling, suspended out over the edge of a stream!

 

[Cubist]

I was surprised to find a two-seater as a boy while at a camp site, lord know where it was now. At the time I could not understand the reasoning; sociability, defence, economy perhaps? Later I learned it was to allow one side to be retired temporarily while the contents rotted down before being dug out.

I didn't use that model a while back when I built a 'dunny' in one of our fields for use by those of us banned from using the facilities in the house because of muddy boots,

 

[Feltwell]

When we sold my mother-in-law's house, which had a functioning outside loo - as well as an inside one - I had to laugh at what the estate agent put in the house bumpf.

"Adjacent to the garage is a Gardener's WC"



Sounds much posher than an outside toilet!

 

[Drayton]

My uncle's farm had a two seater when I was a child. As we also had no indoor facitities I thought it amusing but nothing more. I should have asked my father if it had been used two-at-at time back when the family, including six sons, were all living there; I'd guess so! I'd also suspect the women retained their privacy, No one left to ask now, unless my brother was more curious than me.

 

[Cubist]

When we sold my mother-in-law's house, which had a functioning outside loo - as well as an inside one - I had to laugh at what the estate agent put in the house bumpf.

"Adjacent to the garage is a Gardener's WC"



Sounds much posher than an outside toilet!

Must remember that and dig a few holes around the place if I ever talk to an estate agent. Whats the sign to fend them off? I know the one for vampires but..... oh, same thing.

 

[Athers1971]

When we sold my mother-in-law's house, which had a functioning outside loo - as well as an inside one - I had to laugh at what the estate agent put in the house bumpf.

"Adjacent to the garage is a Gardener's WC"



Sounds much posher than an outside toilet!

The Mrs may be tempted to keep it as she is the very keen gardener in our house and we don't currently have any downstairs 'facilities'. A Gardener's WC sign on the door may be more appropriate than some of the other euphemisms (I'm looking at you Thomas "Crapper" of Chelsea).

 

[Cubist]

The Mrs may be tempted to keep it as she is the very keen gardener in our house and we don't currently have any downstairs 'facilities'. A Gardener's WC sign on the door may be more appropriate than some of the other euphemisms (I'm looking at you Thomas "Crapper" of Chelsea).

Bog Gardens seem to be popular at present but I'm not convinced by the anticipated fragrances.

 

[CliffordPope]

"I was surprised to find a two-seater as a boy while at a camp site, lord know where it was now. At the time I could not understand the reasoning; sociability, defence, economy perhaps? Later I learned it was to allow one side to be retired temporarily while the contents rotted down before being dug out."

We've got a two-seater compost loo in a shed in the garden, for use in summer when we are short of water.
There are two compartments underneath, accessible by removing panels on the downward side of the slope. We use them one at a time. It takes a couple of years to fill a chamber, and then we empty the compost from the other, by now rotted down. Then we switch seats to the emptied one.

The tub of straw, grass clippings, shredded paper, wood chip etc sits on the seat not currently in use - handy, and also stops people using the wrong one.

 

[Feltwell]

The Mrs may be tempted to keep it as she is the very keen gardener in our house and we don't currently have any downstairs 'facilities'. A Gardener's WC sign on the door may be more appropriate than some of the other euphemisms (I'm looking at you Thomas "Crapper" of Chelsea).

I was tempted to build one when building my garage - our original outside loo being long gone - but we have got a downstairs loo with an entrance door right next to & just inside of our back door. It is very useful being there, no one tramps any muck through the house.

If that drain is still connected it wouldn't be that bad a job to reinstate a loo. I suspect the water feed is cut off, as they tended to get frost damaged, but not too bad a job to reinstate that plus it gives you the opportunity to put an outside tap down there.

 

[philpjuk100]

Thunderbox!, my grandfather called his "the houses of parliament" he had no respect for politicians!

 

[Feltwell]

Hello Phil! Good to see you back.

"The throne room" is the one I've heard, but "Houses of Parliament" is a good one!

 

[philpjuk100]

Hello Phil! Good to see you back.

"The throne room" is the one I've heard, but "Houses of Parliament" is a good one!

Hi Feltwell, I've not been anywhere, I still drop into the site most days but don't feel I am able to offer advice after "bodging" the fitting of a replacement front door and having to employ a proper carpenter! everything seems so heavy when you get past seventy! and now the wife has banned me from going on the roof!, look after yourself, Phil.

 

[Cubist]

Good to hear from you again Phil but sorry to learn that, like myself, you're feeling the advance of time. Don't let that get in the way of your participation here it matters not that these days we may be less able, as Feltwell attested in a separate post today, we can still help others with a few encouraging words and maybe some practical advice. As the old bull replied to the young bull - "No, let's walk down the hill and.... offer our services"

 

[LadyArowana]

Hi Feltwell, I've not been anywhere, I still drop into the site most days but don't feel I am able to offer advice after "bodging" the fitting of a replacement front door and having to employ a proper carpenter! everything seems so heavy when you get past seventy! and now the wife has banned me from going on the roof!, look after yourself, Phil.

Yes it's good to see a regular from the "before times" back again, I still wonder what happened to Flyfisher?

 

[Feltwell]

Yes it's good to see a regular from the "before times" back again, I still wonder what happened to Flyfisher?

I tried dropping him a direct message a while ago, as that should have prompted an email to him, but I heard nothing back. Doesn't look great I'm afraid as I'd had a few off-forum conversations with him in the past and he'd always responded quite quickly. Maybe this will tease him out, who knows.

There's a lot of folks who used to post a lot who stopped suddenly - Penners, JoceAndChris, Moo and many others. In fact Penners still has by far and away the greatest number of posts! I joined in 2008 and I'm not sure many others from back then are still posting - I'm only aware of one who got banned!

 

[Feltwell]

Hi Feltwell, I've not been anywhere, I still drop into the site most days but don't feel I am able to offer advice after "bodging" the fitting of a replacement front door and having to employ a proper carpenter! everything seems so heavy when you get past seventy! and now the wife has banned me from going on the roof!, look after yourself, Phil.

Well, if it's any consolation Phil, the eldest of my sons - age 16, highly intelligent but a bit lacking in tact, even by 16 year old boy standards - was asking me what I was doing when I was digging a big hole to repair a drain in my garden yesterday. I told him, which got a reaction of "Oooo, that's not a fun job, especially at your age." I'm 50 - Ouch!

He redeemed himself slightly by offering to help! Else I reckon that hole could have just accommodated a skinny 6' teenage boy.......

Main problem is though, the little bugger was right!

 

[LadyArowana]

I tried dropping him a direct message a while ago, as that should have prompted an email to him, but I heard nothing back. Doesn't look great I'm afraid as I'd had a few off-forum conversations with him in the past and he'd always responded quite quickly. Maybe this will tease him out, who knows.

There's a lot of folks who used to post a lot who stopped suddenly - Penners, JoceAndChris, Moo and many others. In fact Penners still has by far and away the greatest number of posts! I joined in 2008 and I'm not sure many others from back then are still posting - I'm only aware of one who got banned!

I’m still connected to JoceAndChris, I will drop you a DM.