Public Toilets: A History
The simplest solution to the problem of what to do if you need to "go" when you are away from home is to do it anywhere. However in most cultures there is a need for privacy.
The ancient world
Most of the great cities of the ancient world had public toilets, but although used by travellers they mainly provided communal facilities because there were few private ones. Public toilets were important to the Romans; the Emperor Vespasian built street urinals, and the urine was collected and sold to cloth dyers. Like so many other elements of Roman life, public toilets were discontinued when the empire declined.
After the Romans left, facilities ranged from non-existent to dung heaps. Writers often complained of the state of streets and buildings in which there could be urine and waste everywhere. Leonardo da Vinci suggested that public buildings should always have spiral staircases to make it harder to use them as toilets. In 1358 there were said to be only four public latrines in the whole of London. There was one on London Bridge which discharged straight into the river.
The Victorians
It was only in Victorian times that public toilets appeared in any large numbers. The Public Health Act of 1848, called for Public Necessaries to be provided to improve sanitation.
The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851 had toilets for visitors. These were installed by George Jennings, a plumber from Brighton. He felt strongly that there should be decent public facilities. To offset the cost, visitors were charged 1d for using the toilets, as 827,280 did. This gave a net profit of £1,790 in only 23 weeks. The water closets were of a type called "monkey closets," a two-piece forerunner to the wash-out closet.
The first public on-street convenience was a "gents" at 95 Fleet Street, London, next to the Society of Art. It was opened on 2 February 1852. Another, for "ladies," was opened on 11 February at 51 Bedford Street, Strand, London. The two main people who brought about the scheme were Sir Samuel Morton Peto, a building contractor who had been responsible for erecting Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, and Sir Henry Cole, one of the principal promoters of the Great Exhibition. As well as being a public service they thought the new facilities would be profitable. These "Public Waiting Rooms" had water closets in wooden surrounds. The charge was 2d entrance fee and extra for washing or clothes brushes. They advertised the facilities in The Times and distributed handbills. But unfortunately they had very few users and they were abandoned.
William Haywood (1821-1894), City of London Corporation Engineer, started the first municipal public toilets and the first underground public toilets in 1855. These were outside the Royal Exchange. The contractors were George Jennings of Brighton. These toilets charged 1d, a price which remained standard for nearly all public conveniences until decimal currency was introduced in 1971.
George Jennings was a notable campaigner for public toilets, which he called 'Halting Stations.'
At first he found it hard to convince authorities to adopt them. It was thought a topic which should not be mentioned. But 1895 found his public conveniences in 36 British towns as well as cities around the world. The urinals were made of slate, and most of his public conveniences were built underground, marked by railings above.
The great architects and engineers of the Victorian and Edwardian period were encouraged by local authorities to construct public conveniences of high standard. When they were constructed above ground great importance was given to their appearance. Civic pride demanded that these were impressive and used materials like copper, marble, ceramics and decorative tiles.
Nearly all public conveniences were for men with few provided for women. The logic was that far more men were away from home than women, either for work or leisure. Urinals were also cheaper to construct. The socialist writer George Bernard Shaw campaigned for facilities for women, but he was battling against the feeling that it was not decent to have public toilets for women.
All the sanitaryware manufacturers made public toilets, although ceramic urinals were more usual than Jenning's slate.
The late 20th century
In the post-war building boom local authorities built new conveniences, often demolishing the grand, but high maintenance, Victorian buildings. The new toilets blocks were built from modern materials which, though fashionable, were to have a lot of problems in future years. The drab finishes lent themselves to graffiti, and the privacy of public toilets made them a prime target for vandalism.
Public Authorities have the power to install public toilets but there is no duty to do so. In a climate of reducing budgets and increasing costs, many public toilets have closed. However there are an increasing number of toilets provided in places such as shopping centres, public buildings, pubs and clubs, and motorway services areas.
