Hanging bogs of Bath

Bath for a change today.

These houses back onto Cavendish Road and front on to Marlborough Street and St James Square. They look very nice and upmarket from the front view.

The back of them is quite entertaining. To the left you will note the presence of a 'hanging bog of Bath' which is the nick name for semi external loos added on to buildings when household plumbing came into existence - replacing outside loos, buckets and chamberpots.

In Bristol and many other cities you will find more integrated extensions containing the loo - often in the form of a column like addition from ground level, up the wall of the house to all the required floors - a bit like the extension on the left of this photo, behind the garage.

To the right of that is an example of how Bath dealt with it - just a box shape plonked anywhere on the back of the building with no obvious structural support underneath, rather like a magician floats thing in mid air. You know its supported somehow, but the end results looks improbable and just a little alarming. You see loads of these loos in Bath. Knowing there is little visible support and a long drop underneath could not have brought much comfort to those 'in need' either then or now.

Further to the right is another hanging bog with a greenhouse like structure just under it, which in turn seems to be held up with some very slim metal legs.

'Precarious' must have been a very fashionable term in Bath.

Perhaps they train people here to loose all fear before moving them to live in the end house of Windsor Terrace in Bristol? :-)

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