Archaeology of domestic plumbing

archaeology, originally uploaded by Colonel Blink.

A change in the pattern in the bricks in the black painted wall reveals the position of the hatch from which "the Lavender Boys" would collect the night soil in the days before mains plumbing. Night soil was still being collected from some Norwich homes up until the 1960s.

The last Norwich Council houses to have outside (plumbed in) toilets were converted or pulled down in the mid 1970s. There are still Norwich City Council homes without baths (but with showers). The most famous recent example of bath-less council homes were the old people's sheltered housing at Greyhound Opening which were knocked down last year. Presumably someone at City Hall decided that Old People ought to be allowed to have baths.