A London Toilet Epilogue

Nobody said I wasn't strange. London toilets were different enough from North American ones that I felt them to be blogworthy. So here goes...

First of all, in England toilets are called toilets, not restrooms or washrooms or bathrooms or powder rooms. It’s refreshingly non-euphemistic, because after all what you really want is the toilet. The washing part, while recommended, is secondary to the toilet part.

Here's the toilet sign from Smith of Smithfields, where we had a late lunch one day (see Chapter Three). I was concerned about the quotes until Sara pointed out to me that they actually call themselves 'Smith of Smithfields' (with quotes), so they're just being consistent.


Another thing that's very different from North America is that the stalls tend to have walls and doors that go pretty much floor to ceiling. Very private but it means that your friend next door can't save you when you realize that your stall is out of toilet paper.

These are the toilets at the Royal Greenwich Observatory (Chapter Seven). Nice design.


Here's another thing: the toilets tend to be somewhat smaller than North American public toilets, they seem to be mostly low-flush (none of these monster flushes where the seat is sprayed with water and you have to back away in case you're sucked down into the vortex), and the tank is often enclosed in the wall.


The port-hole door seems to be popular.


Here are a couple of toilets with sinks included. I really liked this sink with the tap set into the side of it. Cool and compact but not so easy to wash your hands.


This sink was neat because the drain was at the back, not in the bottom. Another nice, simple design.


The toilets at the Victoria and Albert cafeteria (Chapter Six). Look at the beautiful tiles.



The toilets at Fortnum and Mason. Note the gilt-framed mirrors and chandeliers. There was a choice of terry cloth hand towels or paper towels. Incidentally, paper towels were unusual; hand dryers were the norm.


Princess of Wales Pub (Chapter Five). Nice sinks.

The sign for the public toilets in Fleet Street (opposite the Courts of Justice).


This is a washstand – ok, not a toilet, but complementary – from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was designed by William Burges for his guest room. There’s a cistern at the top that is filled by a servant. There are two taps; the higher one is for rinsing ones hands, perhaps, while the lower one is for filling the basin. Note the little silver carp in the bottom of the basin, and the little mouse sitting in the curlicues on the side of the washstand. The basin was mounted on an axle; to empty it you simply tilted it backward and the water was caught in a bucket in the cabinet below.




This is the sign pointing to our local toilet at the corner of Russell Square.


And here's the toilet. Very fancy-looking from the outside.


We never had occasion to use it, though.