How we used to live : A Short Social History of the Toilet in Britain

[@SloopyDog]

In the 1940s my grandparents lived in a colliery house. The toilet was an earth closet across the street from the house. There was a wooden hole where you did your toileting. The poo fell into a cupboard underneath and ashes from the fire were thrown over the fragrant poo. A man came from the council to shovel them out every few weeks, which was not a pleasant job. He was paid a few more pence than the bin men. When I stayed at my grandparents if I wanted to go to the toilet through the night I was expected to use a chamber pot from under the bed. My grandmother put a paraffin lamp in the outside toilet as they were freezing. No toilet rolls in those days, my Grandmother cut up newspapers and hung them on a nail on the toilet door. The paper squares were a bit hard and hard to use for a child. My Grandparents' colliery house was a two-up, two-down house and there were eight in the family. My grandmother had to have the tin bath ready for my grandfather and my uncles when they came home from the colliery. Then she put their dinner on the table. She would then clean the pit clothes and polish their boots. It was hard for the miner's wives in those days. God Bless Her.

[@throughlucyslens]

Very very hard and I bet she never complained! I had to use a similar toilet once in a cottage on a holiday in wales, it scarred my little 1980s kid brain and I really didn't realise how lucky I was that a few decades before that would have been my normal life!

[@OzzieJayne]

An old poem a friend taught me as a kid - Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he, He woke up in the middle of the night To go to the WC The lightning flashed, The thunder roared, The candle blew a fit, Old King Cole fell down the hole and came up covered in.... !

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahahah I love this - I am going to share my Dads favourite little ditty with you ... Down in the sewer Digging up manure Everybody did their little bit You could hear the shovels clang With a bang bang bang of the shovels of the shovelers shovelling ... S....t ! We used to BEG him to sing it when we were kids!!

[@OzzieJayne]

@@throughlucyslens Love it ! Hahaha

[@nadiabarrett5195]

I like this video format just as much as the usual format! You're such a great storyteller!

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks Nadia, I really do appreciate that a lot.

[@juanc424]

This was great, Lucy! I have one for you... I read a murder mystery in which a nun is murdered in a convent. Anyway, the inspector asked what was behind the door, and one of the nuns replied that it was "the Necessarium." I'm thinking of using that word from now on.

[@throughlucyslens]

Oh I like that .. because it certainly is a necessary part of all our lives! Very interesting!

[@munchkinheaven7877]

@@throughlucyslens I think in the 1700’s they used to refer to it as Jericho, as in going to Jericho, but I can’t find out why, can you? Aah I think I have it, Google: in the Bible, Jericho was referred to as a remote place, and in Oxford there were some slums just outside referred to as Jericho houses, no sanitation, and outbreaks of cholera, maybe the remoteness of the Earth closet up the garden was a fitting description.

[@throughlucyslens]

It's an area of Oxford that was used as a slang term by university students "going for a Jerry" - can't find out why they used that area though! Maybe it was run down?

[@munchkinheaven7877]

@@throughlucyslens yes it was, I added to my comment what I found out about it, that part of London is still called Jericho but of course more up market now

[@ccturner8224]

What fun! I loved it! And if I could have gotten a degree in social history I would have! I really enjoy your research!

[@SloopyDog]

Right up to the early 1960s my grandmother lived in a colliery house, she didn't have electricity in the house. She had gas lamps downstairs and no lights at all upstairs, so she had to use candles when she went to bed. She had no bathroom or indoor toilet. She did her cooking and breadmaking on a range, her hot water also came from a tank attached to the range. She boiled her pans over the fire. Her dinners were delicious, and her bread was a treat with homemade butter and jam. A few years later they fitted electric lights and sockets. My grandmother was scared that the electricity would escape so she wouldn't use it. Her old gas lamps were still in place so she used them. Her washing was done with a poss tub and a mangle. Some years later she was moved to a council house with all the modern conveniences, and she hated it. I loved my grandmother very much, she was a real lady. She was tea-total and god-fearing and had worked hard all her life. God Bless Her.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks for sharing about your grandmother, she sounds made of stern stuff and absolutely amazing! I bet she was also happy living life her way. ❤️

[@SloopyDog]

@@throughlucyslens I never heard her complain even though she had plenty to complain about. She had a beautiful nature. My grandfather was a tough man. He never helped my grandmother with housework. He started work in the coal mines at the age of 13, working six days a week. He had his fingers sliced off in a pitfall a week before he retired at 70 years old, his workmate had his back broken in the fall. My grandfather carried him to the surface even though he had lost his fingers, when he reached the surface his friend was dead. Hard times, hard men, no compensation in those days.

[@lynneleverton8825]

That was fab, I loved it. I don't know how true it is, but I've watched a couple of videos about The Great Exhibition of 1851 and in it, they said, The Crystal Palace was the first place to charge to go to the loo and that's where "Spend a penny" came from! It's all really interesting regardless of where it came from!

[@throughlucyslens]

Oh you have taught me something today! That's brilliant! Thanks Lynne.

[@robinmichel9048]

In the US, we call really bad toilet paper "John Wayne toilet paper" because it's rough and tough and doesn't take s**t off anyone. 😂

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahahah I love this!

[@mariannetuite7411]

I’ve said it before, I don’t think there’s a story you couldn’t tell. This was brilliant!

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you, really sat on this video for ages and it was getting to the point it would end up over edited because I was just so unsure about it, glad it's out there now, there isn;t enough out there about it considering we all do it every day!

[@michaeltreadwell777]

Lucy - that was BRILLIANT ! So much information about such a basic subject. I was brought up in North London, in an Edwardian semi house. we had a separate toilet and bathroom and we also had an 'outside' toilet. This was accessed by a door next to the back door, but we never used it as a toilet - more of a shed ! Fascinating video, made even better by your down to earth nature and great personality. Thanks a million for doing your videos. Take care 🙂

[@throughlucyslens]

You are so welcome! Our outside toilet was more of a shed too / you would have to trample over a lot of spades and spiders to get to the actual toilet 🤢

[@Dan23_7]

So many folk are prude about “toilet talk”. This was great, proper pub quiz stuff. I always thought Thomas Crapper invented our flushing toilet. I always call a toilet “the bog” unless I’m having to be polite and professional 😂 I deal with a lot of “snoots” in my job. This is one episode I was really looking forward to and you did a top class “job” 😂😂 My grandma lived in an old terrace house, she had her “best” bathroom upstairs which nobody was allowed to use but us grandchildren would sneak upstairs and look at it, it was all pink with one of those toilet roll doll things. The normal toilet to use was outside.

[@throughlucyslens]

I absolutely LOVE that about the "best bathroom" - you know when you go to someones house and they ask you to use the downstairs loo - I think I really wanna go up stairs and look at the MAIN EVENT (plus don't really want to be peeing with everyone listening) people are so funny aren't they? Thanks for your lovely comment! Really made me smile.

[@susi-emily]

I have a "toilet roll doll thing" but it is in the shape of a poodle. My great aunt used to crochet them and everyone in the family had one. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away when I cleared my mum's house after she died last year, so it's now in my bathroom.

[@heatherstephens9295]

@@susi-emily🥰🥰

[@heatherstephens9295]

👏👏🥰

[@GailBurt-wn8oj]

Absolutely loved this Lucy. Fascinating. Love your work. You bring history alive and explain details so clearly. I look forward to your videos. Thanks so much xx

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you, it really means a lot, I sat on this video for AGES worrying about posting it so I am really glad you enjoyed it.

[@kenstevens5065]

Well Lucy, not a regular subject but very interesting and well researched. I grew up in the 1950's in an area built in Edwardian times. In spite of an indoor bathroom we had an outside toilet; a candle for lighting and an oil lamp for winter to stop pipes freezing, at least it wasn't shared. Chamber pots in bedrooms at night. These were not really the good old days! Moved to a brand new house in 1961, at last an indoor loo and central heating. Civilisation at last but posh soft toilet paper was only just coming on the market.

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahaha yes I still had izal in the 80s when I was at school. My aunty had really soft loo roll and I used to love going there 😅

[@bethwaltz2607]

One generation ago, here in the American Midwest, a prosperous relative opted to "modernize" his farmstead by constructing a brick wing connecting his house with his barn. This structure was built on a hillside and consisted of a hallway lined with special-purpose rooms, among them a room dedicated to an "earth closet" toilet. This toilet involved a wooden bench with seats (with lids), a brick lined pit below, and a metal hatch at the bottom of the hillside/ pit to allow periodic cleaning. Two pails with scoops sat in the room: one filled with common soil; another, with ash from the wood stoves. And there were rolls of toilet paper -- Uncle believed in comfort! * One was supposed to scoop earth, then ash, then close the lid. * All went well until the day a live coal remained in the ash that was scooped. According to family lore, the metal pit hatch was blown 20 feet into the woods.

[@throughlucyslens]

Oh lord!!!!! Talk about history actually having a voice! I bet they heard that "explosion" from miles around! You really made me chuckle that he believed in comfort! Thanks for your brilliant comment x

[@caroleward4580]

Wonderful. Thank you Lucy.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks Carole x

[@storm5205]

In the US South, 'commode' was a common term in the past for any type of toilet. Now, it seems to only refer to a portable toilet.

[@throughlucyslens]

Ohhh interesting! you know when I posted this I thought, damn, I should have mentioned commodes - but here it's also a term for a portable toilet, more connected with something a person would use if they are unable to use the bathroom due to illness or frailty.

[@cerealtiller]

I thought it was a Navy Rank?

[@lauren6889]

​@@cerealtillerThat would be a Commodore

[@SandiMacDougall]

What a great and interesting topic. Good for you for doing it. I'm from the US. I personally don't care for the word toilet. I don't know why. I do prefer bathroom or restroom. I have heard of most of the terms you mentioned. But my favorite is the Privy. I wish it was commenly called that here. It just sounds elevated lol. I usually ask for the restroom or ladies room when I'm out in public.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks Sandi, it's odd isn't how some words just grate on you - you don't need a reason. There are a few words that really make me wince when I hear them. I always think ladies room sounds very lovely :)

[@lauren6889]

How very genteel

[@susi-emily]

I couldn't imagine going into a pub or restaurant asking the whereabouts of the "bathroom"! Honestly, they'd think I was asking if could actually have a wash! I can understand using the term in a private residence, in a room where there actually IS a bath. But when you are just needing to take a leak, it's a "toilet" you want, not a "bath". I almost always use "toilet", but during my school days in the 80s "bog" was definitely the term to use. I quite like using "conveniences" if I'm in a smart arse mood. As in "Greetings my good man, would you kindly direct me to the conveniences". Great vid, Lucy. I'm glad I subscribed to your channel. You never quite know what you're going to get, but it's always interesting.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks Susi, I'm the same the word bathroom just doesn't cross my mind really! Laughing at the 80s and bog - we loved it didn't we? Adults seemed to hate it which made it all the more delicious :)

[@robinmichel9048]

Another word used in the US (mostly by older generations) is "powder room." Ladies would say "I need to powder my nose" when they needed to visit the restroom. Americans also use privy or outhouse to mean an outside pit toilet in its own shed.

[@throughlucyslens]

Aghr yes powder room. I've heard that here too but like you say not for a long time!

[@ejusdem_generis]

Never understood why Americans are frightened of the word ‘toilet’. It can’t be a bathroom, there’s no bath in there! Also in Australia there are ‘long drops’. Some rural properties have them, also some camping/hiking sites.

[@throughlucyslens]

Aghr yes! I've just looked those up. Makes sense in a hot, dry country. Yeah I feel silly asking for a bathroom to use the toilet too .. like I'm obviously not going to "powder my nose" 🤣

[@frankiefranklin9761]

An underrepresented but important part of history, health and hygiene! I like how it is out in time for father's day too 🤭 I am hoping to get to the chiltern open air museum with one of my kids soon- I think that's right up your street and not super far from you!

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahaha. My Dad could really make a meal out of a visit to the loo, it was never a private thing to him - as many people as possible would know about his visits .. Dads eh? Oh I will google that museum now, I don't think I have heard of it - I hope you have a really good day out :)

[@helenstone9711]

Hi!! Came across your videos by chance and have watched them all now. We are local, Oldbury! Nice to see a new take on local (and further away) videos. Keep up the good work 😊 Helen 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks Helen! I love this area, it's so over looked and there is so much here. I'll keep it coming :)

[@sisutytto2563]

In castles they had their clothes in a room high up in the tower where guards were also guarded,,,,also the toilet.Thats why they called it guard- de- robe, garderobe.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks for sharing ❤️

[@sisutytto2563]

@@throughlucyslens 🤗🤗

[@mariaaliciagarciaprina9137]

Hello Lucy, Thank you so much for your interesting, educational and funny videos. I discovered your channel just a few days ago and I'm absolutely delighted with your historical research and knowledge. Greetings from Uruguay. Alicia

[@throughlucyslens]

Hey! Thank you so much! And incredible you are watching from so far away! Thanks for your lovely comment it's made my evening x

[@lorrainerichardson3280]

Imagine the smell. I've heard from I can't remember where but - we couldn't take the smell if we went back in time and they couldn't stand the noise if they came to our time. Love the research. Another name for toilet in Australia is long drop lol. Take care.

[@throughlucyslens]

I totally agree, I always say I wouldn't want to go back in time unless I couldn't smell anything - I definitely wouldn't handle it! I get nauseous in the summer when the river by my house smells stagnant .. weakling!

[@OzzieJayne]

Fabulous, loved this! In Oz we don't use the word John, it's usually loo. In generations past we had the Longdrop - usually a toilet set up over a deep hole/mine shaft, or Thunderbox an outside toilet where the night soil was removed once per week. Melbourne quickly followed London in the smell stakes - t'was known as Smellbourne - then the sewerage stakes. There was a town set up at the sewerage farm, Cocaroc, (means 'frog' in local Indigenous language) that hosted 4 primary schools.

[@throughlucyslens]

I have a friend from the Gold Coast that uses John - maybe it's a "her" thing .. or maybe she's actually got roots elsewhere - language is so wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing that, really brought back something I had heard about with the Longdrop .. Smellborne really made me laugh! :)

[@lisacraggs8728]

John is American

[@SallyMavin-lo3hr]

Thanks Lucy, that was so interesting. I too liked the way you presented this video. I look forward to the next one. 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you Sally! 😃 Really appreciate it ! I was really hesitant to post this so that means a lot, I am glad you enjoyed it x

[@susanlangley4294]

As a Canadian working in the US, I still use loo and no one seems to have a problem. I travel a lot and most European countries are very pragmatic and prefer toilet which, as you experienced, is received as a bit crass in North America. Washroom and restroom do tend to be used in the US and Canada. I work in a nautical field so “head” is common. When I was a Girl Guide, latrine or lats was most common and dunny occasionally: WC is still extremely common but that doesn’t work as well in North America, but your assessment of WC not being recognized as an acronym is very true too. Your videos are a delight and I share them widely. The pin and pen museums are on my “to visit” list.

[@throughlucyslens]

Oh thank you - and for sharing, that really means a lot! Who knew the topic of the toilet could be so expansive, that video probably could have been double the length! I like the term lat .. might start using it and watch peoples faces 🤣

[@heatherstephens9295]

Lucy you are the best!! I love hearing about all of this & thank my lucky stars I was born in the flushing indoor toilet era 😂😂👍👍

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahaha yes, I wonder if you didn't know any different you didn't feel upset by it?

[@sabrinamarriott-b3k]

Very interesting Lucy I learnt lots of new facts which I can shock or bore my grandkids with .

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahaha hope they enjoy them :)

[@fuzzydragons]

for some reason my mom collected old chamber pots and used them for decoration 😝

[@throughlucyslens]

That's so cool though! Some of them are really funny and quirky! I love people who collect unusual things! X

[@zoelongden1929]

Hi Lucy , we loved your toilet talk x

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you Zoe! Really appreciate it ❤️

[@CampestCowboy]

We didn't listen and watched this over our dinner... and it was still amazing! Such great history and I am such a buff of history that everyone thinks about but very few think to ask about! Coming from Edinburgh where it's argued that the corruption 'Gardy Loo' came from, we got taught a lot about what the streets of Edinburgh looked like before plumbing... shudder! And I haven't heard the word Cludgie since my grandad passed! Very much a word thats dying out with the oldest generation in Scotland. But definitely remember him calling the toilet that.

[@throughlucyslens]

I am absolutely desperate to visit Edinburgh - when I do I will hit you up for the best places to go - I like the sound of learning about grubby Edinburgh - you know what I am like! :) haha

[@CampestCowboy]

@@throughlucyslens yes!! I love Edinburghs more grimy history. Always loved going round the anatomy museums there too! They really tell the real story of Edinburgh.

[@ladydax4065]

It was 1971 when we moved into a masonette that we first got a bathroom and an inside loo. It was heaven 😂 Yes my Dad called it a khazi (East end of London) and I have to agree with your mum, i can't stand to hear it called a Bog. Another great video babe 👍😘💚

[@throughlucyslens]

Thanks Dax - I still won't say bog around my Mom!!

[@ladydax4065]

@@throughlucyslens I should think not 😂😂😂

[@craftybarb6220]

I have enjoyed your video. Finished watching this morning.

[@throughlucyslens]

Glad you enjoyed it! Something a bit different x

[@marybarratt2649]

Another interesting video Lucy. I’m watching ones that I’ve missed. I haven’t enjoyed social history since watching the wonderful Lucinda Lambton, so thanks and keep them coming.😊

[@throughlucyslens]

I might watch some of her documentaries today - I really enjoy her work too. I admire architectural historians as there is so much to remember! Thanks for your kind words x

[@deniseedmonds3070]

Brillianty educational and delivered with great humour. Thank goodness we're living in the 21st century, with all, our comforts and privacy. 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

Absolutely! I remember the first time i visited the USA I was really freaked out by the massive gaps in the doors in public toilets. You don't realise how much privacy we are privileged to have!

[@Bargainbucketuk]

Interesting video Lucy😂 I was born in 1968 and remember living in a two up two down house. With a tin bath put in front of the 🔥 fire and an outside loo. Which was harsh in the winter. Until I was 9 in 1977. When my parents had an extension bathroom built which was heaven. ❤

[@throughlucyslens]

I remember having a bath infront of the fire in a yellow washing up bowl .. obviously I was much smaller then 😅

[@AvivaHadas]

BESTIE! The only new ones for me were khazi & cludgie. If you want a comprehensive list, "comfort room" or CR is used in the Philippines. I only I'm in USA and use the word toilet & have never had anyone look askance. But more often even in rooms without a bath tub, I say I'm going to the bathroom. At work when we are online and need to leave a meeting or explain an absence - it's a "bio break." This is not widespread - yet. My husband goes to a urinal.

[@throughlucyslens]

Bio break - wow! That's kind of polite and scientific. I like it. I think I might steal that one!

[@judithstonier9872]

Having found your channel recently I am working my way through your excellent videos I love social history and you explain things so well I'm 78 and can remember the pleasure of having a bathroom and indoor toilet when we moved into a new council house in 1953 no more having to go outside to the "long drop " in the back yard which I was always frightened of falling down ! 😊❤

[@throughlucyslens]

Hey Judith. Lovely to meet you, thanks for your lovely comment. Really appreciate it. We rented a holiday cottage with a long drip outside in the 1980s and honestly I'll never forget the fear of thinking I might fall in! Loved to hear about a real experience of moving to an indoor bathroom ❤️

[@claudiamannion8141]

In a café in Boston a few years ago I asked where the washroom was. The waitress was completely baffled by the question. My American friend explained that his Canadian friend meant the bathroom.

[@throughlucyslens]

It's all so socially confusing isn't it? I get up in my head about asking!

[@jesschee5891]

I did notice when I was in Florida that I wasn’t sure what to ask for, I was given strange looks when I asked for bathroom. I think it ended up with restroom. I’ve definitely used an outdoor toilet over a pit but never in the city, only camping and cottages. Cheers from 🇨🇦

[@throughlucyslens]

Love this, I just can never get enough of even how close we all are these days with technology a small linguistic quirk can cause so much worry when we travel! I'll bare rest room in mind for my next trip!

[@tomsenior7405]

Thank you for covering this icky, but essential subject. It was not until the late 1970s that my gran's outhouse was dismantled. Indoor plumbing had been installed in the 1960s at least. (Although this came at the cost of losing the second bedroom). Cheers.

[@throughlucyslens]

Very welcome! I think it gets forgotten that even though we had great sewers many were still not living with great sanitary conditions until very very late on for a so called "first world economy"

[@annereidy7981]

Good one Lucy, 'The flush toilet was the first significant movement'! Pardon the toilet humour, but sincerely, most interesting, thank you.

[@throughlucyslens]

Laughing my head off at that! And it really was! It's panic stations in this house if the water goes off!

[@susi-emily]

I see what you did there!! Movement! lmao

[@annereidy7981]

@@susi-emily nailed it!

[@sarahstrong7174]

I remember when some school toilets were outside, with a wall around them for privacy but no roof. Sometimes they would freeze solid in winter & we would be advised to 'try to hold it in till home-time.'

[@throughlucyslens]

My infant school the toilets were outside!!' With that tracing paper toilet paper.. absolutely horrific! And I used to hold it - anything but go in there .. they also stank! Wouldn't be allowed these days would it?

[@Klmnop2380]

In the rural US people still had out houses for toilets ( an outdoor enclosed toilet which was a hole in a board over a pit) until the 1950's to the 1990's in some areas. There was no electricity in the area where I live until the 1950's and that was only for a few hours a day. The cities may have been way more advanced than the rural areas. There are areas where theres is still no cell phone service today.

[@throughlucyslens]

We still have the mobile phone "dead zone" here too - I used to feel really stressed over it and now I just appreciate the nice break from work :)

[@cerealtiller]

Great Video Lucy...with some shades of Pam Ayres Vocal Delivery...😄 Keep up the good Work.

[@throughlucyslens]

Wow, thank you! I am very flattered - and I wish I had looked after my teeth ;)

[@cerealtiller]

@@throughlucyslens Your Smile works well allow yourself plenty of confidence.

[@throughlucyslens]

@@cerealtiller You're the best :)

[@anitamackinnon7975]

Great and interesting video!❤️🇨🇦

[@throughlucyslens]

Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you so much ❤️

[@julieorr9975]

Yay!!! You did it Lucy!! You made a vid about toilets! Thankyou! I learned quite a lot that I didn’t know! Loved the other words for the bathroom too.

[@throughlucyslens]

You are very welcome, I am glad you enjoyed it. I had so much fun doing the research for it!

[@tinyTears]

I can remember back in 1983ish I lived in Wilmslow Cheshire and our village had a public w.c which you paid to use but if you had the 20p to spend you did as it was like a pod in the middle of the village which you paid your 20p and the door opened automatically you stepped in and it was all stainless steel and clean how it got clean was after each use it closed and it was cleaned completely by jets of hot steam . So if you turned up to use it when it was self cleaning it was about 2 minute wait so this only lasted for a few years before it just vanished never to be seen again. But when you think about it it most of cost the earth to run it . I don’t know if you have ever seen on like this . By the way a very fascinating video on the W.C . Thanks for sharing.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you!! YES I remember those space aged pod toilets, they appeared in and around Birmingham too - but like you say just vanished again, I always wondered did they stop working or get vandalised. For someone who loves reading about toilets as much as me I have never liked using a public loo, I think I had the fear of God put into me about them being dangerous places when I was a kid!

[@jeannemillsom9300]

My Dad came from Gateshead and he often used the word "netty" for the lavatory. I went to the DPRK in 2012 the toilets at the main theatre in Pyongang consisted of a sloping trench with water flowing down, and I unfortunately used the bottom cubicle to micturate, I witnessed lots of poo floating passed, no loo paper of course (I had my own supply of baby wipes}, and a large black dustbin with a hosepipe to wash your hands afterwards, (no soap). It was quite an education.

[@throughlucyslens]

Wow wow wow that you went to the DPRK! That's bucket list indeed.. however if I ever got the chance I know now to "hold it" as long as I can 🤣

[@lucyanncavanagh8356]

Fantastic subject the toilet! Most parts of rural islands of Scotland, there’s still plenty of outdoor toilets without sewage etc. Hate eco friendly toilets! Nightmare to clean. Oh now the Forth rail bridge still exists a drop toilet, steel shed with a hole to poop on the folks down below, Edinburgh folks would say the “Gaurdy” Dundonians would say the Cludgie, I have no idea what the Shetland word for toilet is yet! I’ve heard the PO! Loo, bog, WC, shithole, the convention, dunny. Outhouse etc.. toilet paper at school was Izal medical paper that doubled up as a tracing paper! Latrine is an army term, head from navy. Toilet humour is essential. Paying for a pee is 20p in some council areas. Radar keys are something that I tend to carry around in my bag. Disabled people can buy their own keys from the blue key company. Because the waiting list for the toilet radar keys is longer than hen’s teeth! Been there done that!

[@throughlucyslens]

I too have a radar key. I've got a condition when I've gotta I've gotta go .. I think that's why my toilet humour is so relaxed because when you have been caught out in public so many times like I have all you can do is laugh! Thanks for that great local info, I really appreciate it!

[@martifreedman4067]

Great episode,

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you ❤️

[@StephenRobertd]

Amazing vloggs always 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

Glad you like them! Thank you ❤️

[@sjrc2010]

Great video Lucy! You should come to Edinburgh. So much history here, you'd love it! They also used to shout gardy loo before emptying their pans into the street! 🤢

[@throughlucyslens]

I would LOVE to come! It's shocking I've only been to Scotland once and it was a quick overnight stay in Glasgow for work - I really should do better!!❤️

[@sjrc2010]

@@throughlucyslens £20 easyJet flight from Brum if you book ahead! You'd love Mary Kings close I think. There is so much! Love your videos. I love history and I too like to think who last used this door or who used to play in this garden. It's amazing.

[@lauren6889]

Thanks, its always been big interest for me. Theres a museum in Leicester that certainly used to have a good display of them. I can't be certain which one, and i think they've had a change around recently. I am sure it wasn't New Walk museum, but i'm pretty sure it was ( then) the Newarke Houses museum ( confusing, yes ) You better check before going, and will be nothing you don't already know...but great anyway x

[@throughlucyslens]

I'll still enjoy it - and believe me there's always something new for me to learn x

[@pamelawright1369]

Great to see you again, love your videos, thank you for sharing 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

You are so welcome, thank you as always for your lovely comment!

[@gmanette188]

Thanks Lucy

[@throughlucyslens]

Very welcome.

[@BYBabbra]

That was a very informative video, thank you. By the way there is a place called "The Bog" near to Minsterly in south Shropshire.

[@throughlucyslens]

Ohhh I wonder if it's a bog as in muddy area or was once used as toilets - interesting! We have Moseley Bog by me x

[@collinhunter9792]

i'll have a blue peter badge !!!!!!!!! lots of love from new zealand

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahaha .. you got it!!! love back at you x

[@LACEDONLINE]

another amazing video!!

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you, really appreciate that ❤️

[@craftybarb6220]

My first home with an indoor flush toilet was about 1954. My husband's Aunty in Gosport only had an out door toilet, and that was at the bottom of the garden!!!

[@throughlucyslens]

I still have nightmares about an outdoor toilet at a holiday cottage in wales: I think the spiders in there were giants! 😅

[@jackietrineer1297]

Very informative! I love your channel Lucy. ❤

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you, that really means a lot, I was very hesitant to post this video!

[@lindabarr4254]

I like your vlogs better when you talk. Like them all. You are doing a great job.

[@throughlucyslens]

I appreciate that! Thank you Linda x

[@beckiebeckie123]

Lucy you’ll have to come to Edinburgh. We’ve got so much history here! A real highlight is Mary Kings Close - I think you’d love it!

[@throughlucyslens]

I would LOVE TO - I keep looking at cheapy flights but never have the time to come for a good few days - because I would need to explore for at least a week .. I just know it!

[@tomsenior7405]

Privy; I was told by my Grandfather that this word was a corruption of the French word "privée". This being the signage on French Toilets. The word was brought bank to England by soldiers returning home after the Great War. My Grandfather served in both World Wars and I had no reason to doubt his word. I am not an etymologist, so I can not speak for the true origin of this term. It never occurred to me that the origin was from something as elitist as "The Privy Council" per se. The latter is appealing, because it may have been intended to mock those in power. Tin opened... worms everywhere.

[@throughlucyslens]

It is probably all of the above. That's what I love about words, it's so complex and often words that get passed from person to person, from country to country just become part of the language with no real true "origin" if you enjoy such things I can recommend "Troublesome words" by Bill Bryson - really interesting and funny to boot.

[@halleyorion]

I have some friends (a married couple) living in Melbourne, Australia, who STILL have to use an outhouse. They live in a very narrow terrace house that was built during the 1800s for the working class, and it has never been upgraded to have an indoor toilet. The neighbourhood they live in, called Brunswick, is covered head to toe in terrace houses just like it, except virtually all of them were renovated with indoor toilets (there was a big push to modernise Australia’s plumbing in the 60s and 70s). Their outhouse must be one of the last remaining Victorian-era outhouses in the city. The outhouse backs onto a narrow laneway, which must be where the night soil men came to empty it. Fortunately, modern plumbing and a flush toilet were added to the outhouse at some stage, so it’s just an inconvenience, not a health hazard.

[@throughlucyslens]

Wow! That's amazing! And now I really need to see these houses. I don't associate terraced housing with Australia at all so that's really opened my eyes! Thank you.

[@Irisarc1]

I certainly learned something today. The was very interesting. I also love learning about social history, especially about the lower classes. It seems like history always focuses on the wealthy and powerful, which doesn't give a real picture of how regular people lived. As far as my reward for watching until the end, I know what a gold star is, and that would be nice, but I have learned only recently about Blue Peter badges. That would probably be a lot more fun. It would certainly be unusual here in the U. S. 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

Yes!! Every kid in the UK lusted after a blue Peter badge, it got you into museums for free until you were 16 and as a kid who LOVED museums it was the best!

[@Irisarc1]

@@throughlucyslens Lucy, I think if we lived closer to each other, we would be good friends. 😊

[@TraitorVek]

19:34 - I Say that "I'm just off to Blow My Nose"

[@throughlucyslens]

I like that!

[@duncanward1718]

I remember seeing a documentary that stated it was usual in those 1920's and 30's houses that had both and inside and outside toilet it was expected that the maid (by then live out and probably part time) would only use the outside one, and that they'd even have low quality (and cheapest) toilet paper.

[@throughlucyslens]

Poor char lady with the bottom ripper 🥺 I like to hope she would sneak upstairs to use the throne room when her employers were out 🤣

[@traceywoodall6937]

Hi Lucy lots of interesting things about toilets today, lots of stuff I never knew. We shouldn’t take things for granted should we, as u say many countries still don’t have these facilities. Brilliant. Thank you 🥰 P.S. I’m a great advocate for public toilets. There are some that are disgusting I know but some are beautifully kept around the country and I would love to see these lol. If it means you pay a little for the up keep then fair doos 👍

[@throughlucyslens]

I agree, we still have some original Victorian Urinal screens here in Birmingham, they are grade 2 listed I think - but then I do wonder what people will think if they see a girl with a camera hanging about the urinals ...

[@traceywoodall6937]

@@throughlucyslens 😂😂😂😂 oh Lucy that’s so funny perhaps it’s not such a good idea then 🤦‍♀️

[@throughlucyslens]

Deffo not 🤣

[@Aethelu1975]

Never thought I would enjoy a video about toilets so much. 😂 Here (in the Flemish part) we use the acronym 'wc' (and I knew what it meant 😊) a lot and also toilet (but pronounced the French way).

[@throughlucyslens]

I think the lovely thing about the French language is even the word toilet sounds so lovely ... although the first time I visited France in the 80s I was absolutely horrified to find a hole in the ground in the campsite we were staying in!

[@Aethelu1975]

@@throughlucyslens you're right. For example 'the garderobe' sounds so elegant. Before your video I knew it as the room where you hang your coats but not the room where you 'did your business'. 😂

[@throughlucyslens]

It's mad isn't it! That's "cloak room" here.

[@polskapolska4218]

Lucy,you shold make a career in BBC docu programs,I really enjoy your videos😊😊❤❤

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahah I wish!!! Gosh wouldn't that be a dream come true. Thank you. That's made my day ❤️❤️❤️

[@Dave_1966]

I lived in a house that only had an outside toilet until I was 11 years old, we moved house in 1977 to a house with two indoor loo’s it was luxury lol 😂

[@throughlucyslens]

I bet! You never quite forget having an outdoor toilet do you? 🥶🥶🥶

[@TraitorVek]

I've Just Got to say this Word - #Plop !

[@karen4you]

I knew most of this but live in USA. I don't know why that man didn't like the word toilet! Sometimes I call it the necessary room. The Amish people in the country here use outhouses and sprinkle lime in the hole but in the summer it's not pleasant. In a building from 1850 here they didn't change the toilets and they were very low to sit on! I was there before cell phones so no photos!

[@throughlucyslens]

I just find it fascinating how many different things people do across the world. I have always been really interested in the Amish communities in the USA. I think their life is fascinating - and the food they grow always looks epic! Thanks for sharing this, my knees hurt thinking about getting off a low toilet!

[@annamackay8597]

I always say pay a visit

[@throughlucyslens]

I've not heard that one. I like it!

[@PlanetImo]

Ooh very interesting, thank you :)

[@PlanetImo]

My friend's nan here in South Wales considered it unhygienic to have a bathroom in the house (that's going back a lot of years, of course!).

[@throughlucyslens]

I can understand that, it must have felt very strange initially when all that dirty business had been going on so far from the living quarters before.

[@kevinhouse7143]

We use primarily washroom or bathroom in Canada. Restroom is more in the States.

[@throughlucyslens]

I love hearing from everyone across the world - thank you ❤️

[@TraitorVek]

"...Down down the Bog Surked Urko... ..."

[@janetgirling1996]

Hi Lucy I think you are amazing.. if I mention the old mill, jolly fitter turves Green, Central Avenue, Shifnal walk you will get where I'm coming from.. I would love it if you could explain one of my childhood memories just off the road from turves Green called the moat just by Albert Brad school. There is a monument around there by the old persons bungalow s plus the moat. It was beautiful in my day but not so much now 😢. Obviously there must be history to it I would love to know. Loving your channel gives me goosebumps 😍

[@throughlucyslens]

I know exactly where you are! My own shop is next to The Old Mill on West Heath Road. I can tell you about that, it was a monument to Hawksley Farm that used to stand there and the remains of a moat. Hawkesley House was a Scheduled Ancient Monument and was built in the 11th century, it also has connections to the Civil War - I hope that helps - amazing it is there at the base of the tower block! Sadly the moat is just overgrown grass now isn't it?

[@sarahstrong7174]

I imagine that most people have just been going behind a bush with a handful leaves untill comparatively recently.

[@throughlucyslens]

I saw someone doing the same while I was walking the dog the other day 😵 I guess when you got to go you got to go! 😅

[@yvonneevie5926]

yay toilet video 😄🤣🚽 that was fascinating to hear 💩 i wouldnt have wanted to be a night soil man 🤢🤢 i havnt the stomach to do that job 🤢🤢💩💩....... and your head dress looked nice lucy 😃😀 very 1940,s 😃😘

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you! I need my roots done REALLY Badly so I love a head scarf - covers all sins! That's really kind of you :)

[@yvonneevie5926]

@@throughlucyslens 🤗

[@royjacques5650]

Hi Lucy i remember when we visited my grandparents they still used a guzzunder at the end of the bed at night so they did not haft to go downstairs and outside to the toilet because there was no heating in the house apart from the Rayburn in the kitchen, i can remember waking up on meny winter mornings with ice on the inside of the windows and it would be there all day, people today are so pampered, are you a star gazer and a musician loved to hear you play, you really made me laugh with this one love your sense of humour so british working class just like me, warped, hahaha 😂😂😂 ,best wishes roy 😊

[@throughlucyslens]

We had a brown washing up bowl ... if anyone had the runs or god forbid sickness the bowl came out ... under the bed just in case! I am interested in astronomy. I love using the telescope but most of the time it's an ornament because a clear sky is a rare thing lately! I also play the piano .. not very well though! Should be better the years I've been doing it! Thank you. My sense of humour is from my Dad. Sadly missed he could make a room rock with laughter in minutes! X

[@heatherarmstrong1366]

Hi there Lucy ❤ this is Heather from Iowa USA. I have a question for you, my grandma almost always called the restroom a Tally House. So she'd say that she needed to use or go to the tallyhouse. Do you have any idea where the term came from or any idea at all? I was hoping it would have been in the video but wasn't. I'd ABSOLUTELY love to hear what you may know. Thank you!!!❤❤❤

[@throughlucyslens]

Did she have Welsh heritage? The Tally House was a building used to weigh stone in Welsh Quarries but I've never heard it used as a toilet term. I will keep looking for that one and let you know if I find anything!

[@lucieann21]

🇦🇺Us Aussies don’t call them Dunny’s so much anymore.. when I was a child it was definitely a common term. Most people I know say they are “going to the ladies/men’s room”, the toilet, the bathroom, or the loo.

[@throughlucyslens]

This is going to sound stupid but I remember Alf saying it on Home & Away and it stuck with me - silly really!

[@nokomarie1963]

My father told me of staying at the beach in the 1930s and sneaking out with friends at night to tip over the local outhouses. Very inconsiderate!

[@throughlucyslens]

Oh gosh imagine them waking up to that 😂 bet they were furious!

[@robinmichel9048]

I'm one of those people who hates the feel of velvet. The idea of sitting on a velvet toilet seat gives me some serious heebie jeebies. 😅

[@throughlucyslens]

Right? Me too - and isn't it kind of too absorbent for a toilet seat? 🤢

[@Wench64]

My gran had a outside toilet in the 80s, she wouldn't have her council house modernised, and gas lights on stairs and were the bath was

[@sarahstrong7174]

There are quite a lot of public toilets now where you do have to pay.

[@lindac3395]

Hi Lucy! What fun your video was today! The biggest difference I noticed between restrooms in the States the UK, and Europe was the States has/had the door when you closed it on either side had gaps where you could peek in. I was convinced when I was in Catholic Elementary School the nuns had the lavatory specially designed for that purpose….so they good LEAR in to check up on us! Hahaha, yep typical thought from a kid…then again Catholic School in the mid 60’s am sure the door design was perfect for the pious bossy ol nuns! Oops.🫣🤐 In high school we called the restroom either The Head OR…The Pissoir (rhymes with Armoire). Who started that in my world who knows, but my mom HATED me using either term. Have a lovely weekend, am glad you got your internet sorted out! Oh oh oh….woof woof to your lovely pooch! Cheers, 💕🇺🇸

[@throughlucyslens]

This is so funny because the first time I visited the USA I was HORRIFIED by the gaps in the door!! I was sat with my knees on show, it really freaked me out! I wonder why they are like that? Amazing to hear off someone who called it The Head - sounds like your Mom was the same about that as my Mom was calling it "The Bog" haha

[@aalexjohna]

I met Cliff Richard in the shitters at Euston Station, back in '63.

[@throughlucyslens]

Trying to think of something witty to say about that but I think it would all get censored 🤣

[@DeanSinger-ky7md]

@@throughlucyslens sounds like cottaging?

[@munchkinheaven7877]

@@DeanSinger-ky7md ooh blimey!!

[@smc130]

In Texas USA many generations ago men would say they “had to go see a man about a horse”😂

[@throughlucyslens]

Hahaha I love this! I think my dad used to say "man about a dog" 🤣

[@caroleharris3450]

I recently used a public toilet where you had to pay by card to get in, it was in london!

[@throughlucyslens]

Wow! the way I can never get my card to work on the pay and display car parks imagine if you were desperate for a wee too - tough times!! I hope it was spotless in there seems you had to pay x

[@DeanSinger-ky7md]

Difficult where to start(with a straight face) - rhyming slang like Ertha Kitt.....Did you mention LOO.....? Yes, the days taking a newspaper to an outdoor toilet(read the football scores then gone down the pipes)! Might see jokes flying about with the comments! Victorian public toilets were dodgy places to go in the city centres! What do you get when you cross a koala with a skunk-------pooh bear!

[@throughlucyslens]

I can't wait for the comments! I mean how can you do a video like this and not expect them 🤣 oh god my dad used to say "I'm off for an Ertha" and my Mom would glare at him ... I was allowed to go into town as a teenager but had to promise not go into the toilets in new street station .. I understand now!

[@mariahamilton5305]

You can have the techy loo seats if they're wired in properly - my Mum had one - Korean ones have the same electric voltage as Uk

[@throughlucyslens]

👀 goodness!!! It's my husbands actual DREAM to have one.. I'm not sure I should tell him 🤣

[@TraitorVek]

My Town #Toilets will set you Back a 20p Coin - #Loughborough

[@throughlucyslens]

Damn!! Remind me to hold my bladder there! 🤣

[@DavidSmith-648]

Everyone the whole world over has to go to the toilet.....it's only we English that are so fascinated my the whole culture of pee and poo so much that we have our own unique sense of humour based upon it! As a social historian, why do you think that is?? PS..are you a musician too, Lucy??

[@throughlucyslens]

That's a really interesting question, I think it has its roots so many years ago, even Chaucer was demonstrating we thought bums were amusing in the millers tale and many medieval Illuminations show "amusing" bodily functions. Maybe it was a case of making the best of filth through humour? Funny really we are seen as such a stuffy lot .. until it comes to poo 🤣

[@janetpendlebury6808]

The John is more of an American expression, it is not used here in Australia.

[@throughlucyslens]

Thank you, interesting as I have an Australian friend that uses it, maybe she spent time in the USA - I'll have to ask her!

[@joanmatchett8100]

I think the people who lived in the country must have had a better time of it . Not so smelly.

[@throughlucyslens]

I think so too, I always used to wonder why they came to the towns in droves but it was to make money. But now I think I would prefer a simple life in peace and quiet than all the money in the world!

[@joanmatchett8100]

@@throughlucyslens Me too

[@mariahamilton5305]

What I wonder about was when washing your hands after going to the loo became expected, as iirc a lot of separate loo rooms didn't have a sink in!

[@throughlucyslens]

I was thinking about that too, I know it was normal to have a finger bowl for when you ate but that was more for grease than hygiene. Our toilets at school only had one tiny sink for 10 loos and I know many kids didn't bother 🙃