Water and Sanitation

This section covers water supply, sewage and drainage, and sanitaryware in Victorian and Edwardian houses, from 1830 to 1914. Read about the history of baths, toilets or lavatories, wash-basins and showers.

Although people did wash their faces and hands regularly by the late 18th century, they only began frequent cleansing of their whole bodies by the mid-19th century, and even then this applied only to the middle classes.

The furnishing and decoration of bathrooms and toilets is covered in Design by Room.