No downstairs cloakroom is complete without a wooden loo seat. Jane Wheatley investigates why burr walnut is always preferable to plastic when it comes to sitting pretty
Here are beautiful mahogany commodes or ‘closed stools’ by Hepplewhite or Chippendale concealing chamber pots, ornate porcelain pedestals decorated with spouting dolphins or trumpet-blowing cherubs and the thunderbox—a water closet in polished-wood panelling, with a brass handle set into the side to operate the valve flush. Jonathan Swift built his own: ‘Two temples of magnifick size.’ There is the chaise percée—a chair with a hole in the seat—and thrones, huge to accommodate crinolines, with sides and lids in canework.
Whatever the age or style or the standing of its owner—from the humble two-seater privy at the end of a cottage garden to the ‘Optimus’ closet in the peeresses’ retiring room at the House of Lords—a lavatory could be relied upon to afford the descending bottom the comfort of landing on a warm seat made of wood.
That is, until the mid 20th century, when materials such as plastic and acrylic were quickly embraced by bathroom suppliers everywhere. By the 1970s, according to Lady Lambton, ‘lavatory and bathroom design were bereft of all interest and charm’.
この記事は Country Life UK の April 10, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Country Life UK の April 10, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
