The sanitation of the '40s nation
The bathroom of one of the semi-detached 'cast iron' council houses situated on site at the Black Country Museum. This is the bathroom of a house in a 1940s setting, although the sanitary ware and primitive plumbing are not far removed from most interwar and post war housing. ...That's if you were lucky enough to have a bathroom and inside toilet!
The bathroom in the house I grew up in was quite similar, although it had a bigger window, so wasn't so dingy. The bare water pipes in our bathroom ran just above skirting-board level and looked much neater. The toilet set up was similar to this example, but our toilet featured a STOM (of Bilston) made overhead cistern, this example being a similar looking Thomas Dudley 'Cascade' type. In fact, the Thomas Dudley factory is but a stone's throw from the Museum site and is still in business.
This house was unusually warm especially being made from cast iron, so should have been quite cold given the weather. I well remember how cold old houses like this were, so I can only assume that it has been insulated in its rebuild?
Friday 18th April 2025
The sanitation of the '40s nation
The bathroom of one of the semi-detached 'cast iron' council houses situated on site at the Black Country Museum. This is the bathroom of a house in a 1940s setting, although the sanitary ware and primitive plumbing are not far removed from most interwar and post war housing. ...That's if you were lucky enough to have a bathroom and inside toilet!
The bathroom in the house I grew up in was quite similar, although it had a bigger window, so wasn't so dingy. The bare water pipes in our bathroom ran just above skirting-board level and looked much neater. The toilet set up was similar to this example, but our toilet featured a STOM (of Bilston) made overhead cistern, this example being a similar looking Thomas Dudley 'Cascade' type. In fact, the Thomas Dudley factory is but a stone's throw from the Museum site and is still in business.
This house was unusually warm especially being made from cast iron, so should have been quite cold given the weather. I well remember how cold old houses like this were, so I can only assume that it has been insulated in its rebuild?
Friday 18th April 2025