Bathrooms, Baths, Showers, Boilers, Heated Towel Rails, Plumbing & Heating Systems
As the weather steadily changes and becomes colder, windier and wetter, we are left in no doubt that winter has more or less arrived in the UK. Once again our thoughts turn to seasonal celebrations and family get-togethers, evenings snuggled up in front of the fire sipping mulled wine and watching old classics like ‘Scrooge’. The Victorian Dickens character is portrayed sitting next to one glowing candle in a draughty, cold and damp house in bed socks and a night cap, without any of the comforts of home that we are used to today.
To most people in the Victorian times, bathrooms were strictly for the well off, and having a bath was a luxury despite having to disrobe in the cold weather. The majority of people used either communal ‘bath houses’, or a tin bath usually placed in front of the kitchen fire. The bath water would frequently have to be shared with every other member of the family and in strict order. Males and older members first, with the head of the family getting the full advantages of clean, warm soap and water. Subsequent bathing members of the household experienced less and less benefit as the water became increasingly mucky and soup like. The famous saying about ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’ is a reminder of this process, as the dirty water would be pretty dense. Hopefully, hot water was added to the bath occasionally as warm, grubby water is probably marginally preferable to cool.
You would also normally have to leave the property to use the toilet, which was typically situated away from the house. This was probably a blessing as this facility was often represented by a communal yard with toilet seats arranged over a hole or pit. This is doubtless where gossip was spread, along with other things! If there was a heavy bout of rainfall, the pits were liable to overflow sometimes entering peoples homes and cellars. WC’s of one kind or another remained outdoors until the1950ÔÇÖs and 60ÔÇÖs for a lot of people, and some even preferred this, as they understandably thought of an indoor loo as unhygienic.
Luckily things are very different these days for most of us, and good plumbing is an expected part of life at home or wherever we happen to be. In fact, the plumbing trade is one of the most necessary and respected around. Companies like Plumshop Ltd, can provide a wide selection of top of the range bathroom products like baths, WC’s, showers, taps, heated towel rails and accessories. We also have high quality boilers, radiators, fittings and everything you could need for a fully functional plumbing system. If you would like a completely new bathroom or bathroom makeover, visit the SJP Building Services website. These construction specialists offer large or small home improvement building services, providing all services under one roof.