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Houses and homes in Tredegar during the 19th century A Key Stage 2 Educational Resource Pack Part 6—Keeping yourself clean
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How did people wash or bathe in the 1800s?
Report from the Children’s Employment Inquiry 1842
There wasn’t any running water inside houses during the 19th century. In fact, there weren’t any bathrooms either!
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Often, people had a jug of cold water and a bowl in their bedrooms for personal use. However, for serious bathing, people had to use the main living space near the fireplace downstairs.
In the 19th century, people worked for long hours in dirty environments. After a day’s work, a bath was essential. Employers didn’t provide any washing facilities so workers had no choice but to bathe at home.
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All the water needed had to be collected and brought back from the water pump or well, which could be far away from the house. Once the water had been brought back, it had to be heated up in kettles and metal saucepans on the fire.
Why did people often wash in the same bath water already used by others?
Right: A miner’s wife helps clean her husband’s back in a tin bath in front of the fire downstairs after returning home from work at a coal mine.
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Here is an old photo of a shop in Georgetown, Tredegar.
How many washing dollies and tin baths can you see? What makes of soap and ‘blue’ were being advertised in the photo?
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How did people go to the toilet in the 1800s? We’ve already seen that Government inspectors provided evidence about toilets (‘necessary outbuildings’), toilet waste (‘heaps of rubbish’) and sewers (or rather lack of) to carry waste away. Here are the important sections again:
Some rows of houses had shared toilets although many had none at all!
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There weren’t any flushing toilets in the 19th century. Instead, tucked away in an outbuilding away from the house, was an ‘earth closet’ where toilet waste was collected in a bucket underneath the toilet seat. Soil or ashes from fires were placed on top of the toilet waste to try to hide the smell and help soak up liquid waste. Squares of cut-up old newspaper were used for wiping! There were no lights inside so things got tricky at night if your candle blew out!
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Here’s a ‘shared’ earth closet from the 19th century. This would have been used by people from different houses in the same street or row. Which toilet seat was designed for children? How would you feel about using this toilet?
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At night, it would have been very difficult going to the toilet. Make a list of some of the problems that people may have had. In the 19th century, people usually kept a ‘chamber pot’ underneath their bed if they had ‘to go’ during the night. What would have been the drawbacks to using a chamber pot?
Right: A decorated chamber pot.