Day 22. The Privy

                                           A three-seater privy at Park Farm

Flush toilets arrived in Preston together with the mains water supply in the 1950s. Prior to this, the long trip down the garden to the privy or karzy was necessary. At night, chamberpots or 'potties' kept under the bed were used to save groping one's way around the garden in the dark.

 

Outside the privy                              

Privies comprised a small building containing a wooden seat with a hole. They were usually some distance from the house for sanitary reasons.  Smaller dwellings typically shared one privy; larger houses had their own. Some had two or three seats at varying heights to cater for different members of the household. Elder bushes were often planted outside to deter flies.

Few privies now survive. Often the building remains, now used as a garden shed, as in this example. In other cases, the seats have long since been removed. But an elder bush growing at the door may indicate its former function.