ON arrival at a friend’s parents’ house in the deepest Massif Central, the writer John Cornwell summoned up his best prep-school French to ask discreetly for les toilettes. Taking him straight back out of the front door, his hostess exclaimed, with a dramatic sweep of her arm over the surrounding landscape: ‘Mais vous avez toute la France!’
That was the 1970s, when French plumbing (indeed, foreign plumbing of any persuasion) provoked much English sniggering, squeamishness and outright dismay. The horrors of the pissoir, petit coin and other cabinets of horrors remain part of the stock repertoire of British travellers’ tales for anyone over the age of 45.
British plumbing was still resting on its 19th-century laurels, having reached its apogee of comfort and convenience during the Regency, according to architecture historian Mark Girouard. Then, the English nobility were the envy of their Continental contemporaries, enjoying flushing water closets, bathrooms en suite and hot and cold running servants at the touch of a mechanised bell-pull.
Inventor and locksmith Joseph Bramah had patented an improved version of a water closet with valve and S-bend in 1778, which made him a household name for the best part of 100 years, until a flurry of innovations later in the 19th century by firms that are still familiar today. Dent & Hellyer’s Optimus (1870) boasted a quieter flush and illustrious patrons, including assorted British royals, the Tsar of Russia and the King of Siam.
Denne historien er fra November 18, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra November 18, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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
