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.