My cousin Mark’s house, The Old Rectory, at Llangower, retains a somewhat historic feature which, like the house, is 200 years old.
Wandering outside with my camera, I came across the privy, in a little building in the far reaches of the garden.
Imagine having to trek here on a dark, cold, and possibly rainy evening for a call of nature.
It brings back childhood memories for me as my maternal grandparents, living in a small Suffolk village, also had a privy at the bottom of their little garden and adjacent to the coal store.
Not the most fragrant recollections of my childhood! But I liked the textures and colours which I found here and thought the shot of both photographic and historic interest.
A haven for spiders I would think. My Granny has an outside loo, but it was a proper loo, not a “ thunder box”, as I have heard these type called! Isn’t today’s sanitation wonderful?
What a brilliant find lovely tones, textures and detail Hazel, we had one of these on dads farm but all I can remember it was used as a wood store, we had a flushing toilet in the farm cottage linked to a septic tank:)
What a great blast from the past - and a lovely capture -- I also remember the dunny at the bottom of the garden at my Cousin's house they lived in the chapel house . in the rural area , and as this was the property of the Chapel - the congregation were able to use the toilet if need be . !!
Great capture and find. Brings back memories of my grandparents loo I always remember the newspaper squares hanging up on a piece of string. Hooray for Andrex.
I love the effect of the light outside the window. Makes the outside seem so much more appealing than the rather damp looking inside. There was no lingering over your reading material in here, I bet.
What a gem Hazel! It could be a compost loo. Is there a bin containing sawdust to throw down the pan afterwards? If so it would really be my kind of loo! Fav
Thanks for all your responses to this post - amazing! My cousin Mark asks me to give this explanation of the 'workings' of his privy;
"Lovely photo Hazel. As I mentioned this is a two tier privy - which is very rare - meaning the soil is removed at a lower level in the stable yard so obscuring the view from the occupants of the house. Its called a Ty bach - or small house - in Welsh. Oh and just for the record - I do have another loo inside the house now!"
@ludwigsdiana @365anne @pcoulson @carole_sandford @onewing
Thanks for all your responses to this post - amazing! My cousin Mark asks me to give this explanation of the 'workings' of his privy;
"Lovely photo Hazel. As I mentioned this is a two tier privy - which is very rare - meaning the soil is removed at a lower level in the stable yard so obscuring the view from the occupants of the house. Its called a Ty bach - or small house - in Welsh. Oh and just for the record - I do have another loo inside the house now!"