the kitchen (cooking) range
the copper water heater/ boiler
the geyser water heater
everyday washing facilities
guestwashing facilities care of
teeth shaving equipment bathing facilities gas lighting
in houses gas street lighting the lamplighter
Washing facilities for guests in the Victorian home
By the webmaster’s mother, 1906-2002
In the early 1900s when I was a child growing up on the working class Victorian housing estate, it was not considered reasonable to expect guests to wash in the sink in the scullery the way that the rest of the family washed everyday.
China jug and bowl sets for washing oneself. The jug would be filled with hot water and taken up to guest bedroom. The guests would pour the hot water into the bowl and wash themselves.
The washstand with its china jug and bowl
So guests had hot water taken up to their bedroom in an elegantly decorated china jug.
A matching bowl or basin was already in the bedroom to hold the water on an equally elegant stand. The stand in our house had a marble top which I very much liked.
The matching sets of china jug, bowl and other items
In more well-off houses, the decorated china jugs and bowls were part of matching sets which included soap dishes, chamber pots and shaving jugs. Some were very pretty indeed.
Our jug and bowl set were seldom used for guests though. My mother used the large bowl for mixing Christmas puddings and my father used the jug for making home-made wine.
Hot water for guests
If a guest had a bath with us, the copper had to be lit to provide the hot water. This then had to be carried upstairs to the bath in the offroom, where of course there was no running water.
If you can add anything to this page or provide a photo, I would be pleased if you would contact me.
Page based on the recollections and notes of the webmaster's mother (1906-2002) with additional research and editorial work by the webmaster
Text and images are copyright
