The view looking down a flight of stairs to subterranean gents' toilets. The walls are covered in white tiles.. A sign beneath a window, part way down the stairs reads: ‘GENTLEMEN’S LAVATORY, HAIRCUTTING, SHAVING, DRESSING & BATH ROOMS.’
The entrance to the gentlemen's lavatory, haircutting, shaving, dressing and bath rooms at Waterloo Station. Photographed by Bedford Lemere & Company in 1911. Source Historic England Archive BL21143
The entrance to the gentlemen's lavatory, haircutting, shaving, dressing and bath rooms at Waterloo Station. Photographed by Bedford Lemere & Company in 1911. Source Historic England Archive BL21143

Spending a Penny: A Photographic Exploration of England's Public Toilets

In 1851, the Great Exhibition took place in Hyde Park, London. The refreshment rooms featured public conveniences for which a small charge was made. By the time the exhibition closed over 800,000 visitors had paid more than £2,000 for use of the facilities. And so was born the concept of ‘spending a penny’ to use the loo.

In this exploration of our sanitary heritage, we’ll pay a visit to municipal WCs as well as shared facilities within private spaces.

On this page
  1. George Jennings – Father of Necessity
  2. The urinary leash – an inconvenient truth?
  3. At the gentlemen’s convenience
  4. Out of the closet – ‘ladies’ go public
  5. From desirable to dilapidated, modern to outmoded – a compendium of conveniences
  6. Caught short – the ever decreasing availability of the public toilet

George Jennings – Father of Necessity

For centuries the streets of England’s towns and cities had been fouled by human waste. In 1858 George Jennings who had supplied the ‘sanitary appliances’ to the Great Exhibition, wrote to the Commissioners of Sewers offering to set up public toilets in the City of London. His letter gives some impression of the state of the city’s streets at the time:

I think it only right to call attention to the efforts I have made to prevent the defilement of our thoroughfares and to remove those Plague spots that are offensive to the eye, and a reproach to the Metropolis.

George Jennings, 1858

By the late Victorian era many local authorities were providing public conveniences. It was routine to find toilets in workplaces, railway stations, parks, shops, pubs, restaurants and an array of other places.

Many public lavatories were built beneath urban streets or public buildings, an idea proposed by George Jennings in 1858. These subterranean lavatories took up minimal space on busy streets and station concourses. They also helped to hide 'objectionable contrivances' from the view of sensitive Victorians.

The appearance of public toilets undoubtedly helped to improve the cleanliness of our towns and cities. However a large proportion of the population failed to benefit from their proliferation.

The urinary leash – an inconvenient truth?

The vast majority of the early facilities only served men. One explanation may be that Victorian society believed ‘modest’ women would not wish to be seen entering a public convenience.

The lack of provision for women meant that they were often forced to stay close to home. This restriction is known as the 'urinary leash'. Today some consider it to be a deliberate means of controlling women’s movements and ambitions outside of the home.

The dearth of public toilets not only limited leisure activities but also the jobs available to women. A workplace which only had facilities for men was under no obligation to provide toilets for female employees. Moreover, a company could use the lack of such facilities as an excuse for not hiring women.

At the gentlemen’s convenience

At the gentlemen's convenience

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

A view looking from the pavement beside the iron railings marking the entrance to the subterranean lavatories outside the Guildhall. A sign on the railings reads ‘MENS LAVATORIES’. The Guildhall is to the right of the lavatory entrance and the Mayor’s and City of London Court is to the left. The exterior of the decorative cast iron urinal building, constructed in the form of a ‘lean-to’ structure with the entrance seen in the foreground. A black and white photo showing the exterior of a rectangular cast iron urinal building with gas lamp posts at either end. Brixton railway station in the background and a viaduct partially visible to the left. A black and white photograph looking across a cobbled street towards the brick arch of a viaduct. A decorated cast iron encloses the interior of arch, behind which are the urinals.

Out of the closet – ‘ladies’ go public

Finally, thanks to campaigning and the power of commerce the provision of public lavatories began to reflect the changing roles of women in society.

In 1889 a grand municipal women’s convenience opened at Piccadilly Circus, in the heart of London's West End shopping district. The area's fashionable department stores attracted prosperous middle class women. The authorities and local businesses knew that it made financial sense to keep female shoppers there as long as possible. The longer they stayed the more money they spent…

In 1899, the Bank Hill Ladies public conveniences opened near the pedestrian walkway along the ramparts of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The charge for entry was one penny and by the end of the first day, the attendant Mrs Jamieson had taken 5s and 2d meaning that 62 people had ‘spent a penny’.

Public loos on Seaburn seafront in Sunderland opened around 1904. Catering for both men and women these underground toilets eventually closed in the 1960s but were restored and reopened in 2018 and have since been listed at Grade II.

Bit by bit the provision of facilities for women improved. Ladies rooms began to appear in shops, theatres, railway stations and many other places.

On Monday 15 March 1926 Hull City Council posted a notice in the local press inviting builders to tender for a new public convenience adjacent to Victoria Pier in Nelson Street. The new loos served both sexes, replacing an earlier ‘men only’ cast-iron urinal.

In 2017 Historic England bestowed a Grade II listing on the toilets. This accolade was in recognition of their architectural merit and their role in illustrating the changing social status of women during the 1920s. Another of Hull’s listed loos is in the Market Place. Dating from about 1900 it was built strictly for men.

From desirable to dilapidated, modern to outmoded – a compendium of conveniences

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

A man in top hat and tails strolling out of the arched entrance of the Gentlemen’s toilet, housed within a brick built structure. A row of stained and damaged urinals standing in the open air, in front of a stone wall. In the foreground sections of former wall tiles are lying on the ground in front of the urinals. A colour photo showing the view within a dark wood toilet cubicle, looking out across a decoratively tiled floor towards a row of granite and porcelain urinals. A detail view showing the rusty, wrought iron latches on the wooden plank doors of a row of toilet cubicles. A row of six toilet stalls with wooden plank doors open. The stalls are basic – constructed of a simple timber frame. They are separated by timber partitions, each of which has a semi-circular aperture cut into its base. Above the stalls, three bare, electric bulbs are mounted on the curving brickwork forming the tunnels in which these historic toilets are housed. A row of four stainless steel doors, set within a black rectangular building, give access (left to right) to baby changing facilities; a unisex toilet a men’s toilet and a disabled toilet. The conveniences are surrounded by modern buildings in an urban setting. A colour photograph showing the view looking through the open door of a toilet cubicle. The door bears the word ‘GENTLEMEN’ and stands within an ornately shaped doorway. The cubicle contains a toilet pan with ‘CRAPPERS’ cistern. Adjacent is a partially visible Ladies cubicle. The ground floor of a block of flats on a mid-20th century council housing estate. In the centre of the image is the entrance to the ‘Ladies’. Above the windows of a former pub a sign reads ‘Traditional Cask Conditioned Ales’. Detail view showing a small section of tiles. The decorative pattern is made up of groups of black & white geometrically patterned tiles set amidst a background of square yellow tiles. A modern, ‘stand-alone’ toilet structure on the pavement outside a modern office block. The tower and spire of an historic church (All Hallows by the Tower) can be seen on the opposite side of the adjacent dual carriageway. The interior of the school toilets with a double row of urinals in the centre of the room. Against the far wall are a row of five stalls. The room is open to the roof. The interior of ladies lavatories showing the wash basins in the foreground. The basins, which are mounted in marble worktops, are separated by dark wooden screens allowing privacy for users. Large mirrors hang on the wall in front of the basins. The floor is finished in mosaic tiles and the walls are also decoratively tiled. Electric light fittings hang from the ceiling above the basins. A row of urinals beneath a low, riveted ceiling on board ship. Each urinal has a metal bar extending across it, presumably to aid with balance on rough sea crossings. A timber kiosk constructed in the corner of the Ladies room. The camera is looking directly towards the open door giving access to the shop. Items for sale are displayed in ‘windows’ around the exterior of the kiosk. An interior view looking along a chequerboard carpeted landing with a flight of stairs to the right of the image. On the wall in the left foreground is a sign for the ‘GENTS’, which is located upstairs. Further along the corridor is the sign for the ‘LADIES’. The interior of the toilet facilities looking towards the open door of a cubicle inside which is a toilet with an empty wheelchair to the side.

Caught short – the ever decreasing availability of the public toilet

Anyone caught short of late will know that public lavatories are no longer as convenient as they once were. Many have gone altogether, whilst others are frustratingly padlocked awaiting sale or demolition by local authorities. Some have been ingeniously repurposed – converted into flats, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, clubs, art galleries and even beauty salons.

When photographed in 1991, this Forest Hill lavatory (above) was already closed to the public. The entrance is gated and padlocked, the windows broken. It was later converted to residential accommodation and now forms part of the property at 17 Devonshire Road.

This photograph shows the Tootal Broadhurst and Lee warehouse in Manchester, with public conveniences to the right of the image on Great Bridgewater Street. After closure the loos were converted into a bar, appropriately called ‘Temple of Convenience’. The Elbow song ‘Grounds for Divorce’ refers to the bar in the line:

There’s a hole in my neighbourhood down which of late I cannot help but fall.

'Grounds for Divorce' by Elbow

In May 2019 The Royal Society for Public Health published a study into the decline of the public toilet. The report, titled ‘Taking the P***’, reveals that since 2010, 700 council run public toilets have closed.

It emphasizes how the reduction of public conveniences hits the homeless, disabled, outdoor workers, those with illnesses requiring frequent toilet use and women the hardest.

According to the report the ‘urinary leash’ is once again becoming an issue with one in five people stating that a lack of facilities nearby can restrict outings from their homes.

Many of the issues highlighted by The Royal Society for Public Health echo those raised during the Victorian era. The debate over our public toilets has seemingly gone full circle.

Also of interest

Two North East Ladies' Loos Listed
The Great Stink - How the Victorians Transformed London to Solve the Problem of Waste
Find Photos
Topical Press Agency Medical Collection
Marshall Keene and Co
Women's History