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A Matter of Convenience

FOOTNOTES

The following fall outside the main thread of the story concerning sanitation in 17th century Port Royal, Jamaica, but seem too appropriate to leave entirely aside.

No need for special facilities
There are many parts of the world in which it is still true that dedicated sanitary facilities are the exception, rather than the rule. The story is told of a Paris policeman approached by a tourist, who asked where he could find the nearest public convenience. The policeman quickly responded, "But, sir, there is all of France!" (Pudney, 40) [To Link List]

Sir John Harington
Harington was Queen Elizabeth's godson and step-nephew (his father's first wife having been one of Henry VIII's unintended byproducts). The drawings of his invention show all of the characteristics of the modern flush toilet. It was a truly brilliant accomplishment. Unfortunately, there were no respectable academic journals, or even plumbing magazines, to publish his discovery. Instead, Sir John wrote a book, The Metamorphosis of Ajax, full of some of the most puerile potty humor that has ever seen print. Nobody took his invention seriously (except the Queen, who had a water closet installed at Richmond shortly before her death). It took two centuries before Harington's discovery overcame its guilt by association (Reynolds, 76-80). [To Link List]

Thomas Crapper
Mr. Crapper did not invent the toilet. He did, however, receive nine patents between 1861 and 1907 (Colman, 63). Thomas Crapper's basic contribution to toilet design was the valveless flushing mechanism generally used with an overhead cistern (today's siphonic toilets have returned to the earlier design with a stopper). Mr. Crapper held Royal Warrants as "Sanitary Engineer" to Edward VII and George V, and designed the fixtures for Sandringham House. However, he was never knighted for his services. The story that "Sir Thomas Crapper" invented the toilet is a myth that was evidently spread during World War I, when many American soldiers' first encounter with a water closet involved a proct of Crapper's firm. See generally Reyburn [To Link List]

Privies not uncommon in the 1950s.
The story is told of the rural Englishman who was asked a question about the W.C. in a neighboring house for sale. Never having used a water closet himself, he mistook the question as referring to the local Wesleyan (Methodist) Chapel. "Well, sir, I don't go much myself. It is three miles down the road, and gets almighty cold in the winter. When I was last there six months ago, fifty people were crowded in and I had to stand up for four hours!" (Harris) [To Link List]

Bad sanitation
The connection between fecal contamination and disease remains obscure to some people. Two workers were on their way to lunch when one of them stopped off at a privy. After a very long time, his companion went looking for him and found him trying to fish his jacket out of the cesspit where it had fallen. "But Jack, you'll never be able to wear that thing again." "I know, but it's got my bread-and-cheese in the pocket!" (Harris) [To Link List]

John Snow
The incidence of cholera in the 19th century constituted one of the worst epidemics in Western history between the Black Plague and the Spanish Influenza. It was a mystery how the disease spread, since there was no apparent connection between many of the victims. The brilliant Dr. Snow discovered that the link was drinking water contaminated with the feces of prior victims. This discovery motivated the amazing growth of sewage and water treatment facilities in the later 1800s, and forced the disease to retreat to the undeveloped nations, whence it still sometimes emerges. [To Link List]

Link to:

  1. A Matter of Convenience--Introduction
  2. A Matter of Convenience--Historical Background
  3. A Matter of Convenience--Dry Land Disposal
  4. A Matter of Convenience--Chamberpots
  5. A Matter of Convenience--Jamaican Sanitation
  6. A Matter of Convenience--The Building 5 Privy
  7. A Matter of Convenience--Port Royal Chamberpots
  8. A Matter of Convenience--Conclusions

Revised: 1 December 1996
Christine A. Powell
Nautical Archaeology Program
Texas A&M University
Home Page: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/