COVE

Basins were a staple necessity in Victorian homes that served a wide variety of uses that could be found in various rooms around the house; however, their importance in this era was the way in which they were revolutionized in the newly distinguished lavatory rooms. For while it was once common for upper and middle class families to wash in their bedrooms using heated or chilled water brought from downstairs in basins, the Victorian era saw a change into having dedicated rooms for bathing. The basin thus served as the perfect transitional tool during this period as it was the main transporter of bathing water that would soon be replaced by geysers and hot water pipes. In a tub, you would often scoop the water and pour it over yourself with a basin to emulate a rinsing sensation. Lavatory basins used for bathing were not their only functional use at time, for they were also common within maintaining a hygienic waste disposal process. They were often attached to pan closets, in which a basin of cleanable material—usually glazed stoneware, earthenware, or enameled porcelain—sat atop a container that would empty into a D-trap. The water of a basin would help counteract the smell and its highly reusable and cleanable nature made it one of the simplest steps in the indoor lavatory process. Thus, as basins gained more use within private and public bathrooms, a change that would blur the class line more as the Victorian era continued. For what was once an object and symbol of high class as more sophisticated forms of bathing and waste management were only for the rich, slowly morphed more into a necessity that was available to everyone. As seen within Jane Eyre, the sharing of one basin amongst six girls was representative of Lowood's poor living conditions. The basin was becoming a household staple that better represented a more refined way of living within the cleaning of the self and removal of human waste. Basins being utilized in private homes and public spaces would further drive forward a life lived inside and a separation from our more animalistic past. 

Source 1:

Flanders, Judith. The Victorian House: Domestic Life from Childbirth to Deathbed. Harper Collins, 2003. Pg. 311-324.

Flanders book that delves into great detail on all the aspects of the Victorian house was particularly enlightening to me within the ninth chapter titled “The Bathroom and Lavatory.” This gave a great speculative rundown into how basins were utilized both in the washing and waste removal department of a lavatory. The chapter does not only discuss the ways in which basins were used, but also how their use changed over the Victorian era on account of the inventions being developed within the water transportation space. While not all the information within the chapter was directly relevant to my research, it acted as a great catalyst for further exploration into the specifics of the topic by providing a great overview into the space of a Victorian lavatory.

Source 2:

Palmer, Roy. “Chapter Five: Materials and Manufacture.” The Water Closet: A New History, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973. Pg. 67-79.

Palmer’s exploration into water closets provides great detail into the material and craftsmanship of water basins in the Victorian lavatory. Chapter five is where I found the most relevant information that gave a brief history of unsuccessful material that was originally attempted in the crafting of these basin bowls; the material needed to be tough and impermeable to liquids, yet still flexible enough to work with. By looking into the way something is formed, I feel as if I have a better understanding of the key functionalities of basins and the ways in which they were crafted provides a deeper appreciation for a common household item.

Source 3:

"City Commissioners of Sewers." Illustrated London News, 15 Feb. 1851, pp. 140+. The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003, link-gale-com.proxy.uchicago.edu/apps/doc/HN3100027151/ILN?u=chic_rbw&sid=bookmark-ILN&xid=1a5e18a8. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.

This Illustrated London News article written in 1851 provides a detailed account of the sewer system in London and how it is being maintained and expanded. The relevance to my research exists primarily within the "House Drainage'' section of the news article that provides statistics for the total number of premises drained in that year. The article states that up to that point in the year there has been 468 additional drainages, which if taken the total of 1849 at 10,455 drainages, means that there has been 10,932 drainage in total. I intend to weave this information into my things essay through the use of these statistical bearings; if a large portion of my essay is dedicated to the waste removal system that basins are incorporated into, then it is interesting to get real statistics from the time of how many private house drainages were occuring. This provides a better sense into how everexpandig these lavatory systems were, and how basins were a big part of this expansion.

Source 4:

Morrison, Kevin A. “Spending a Penny at Rothesay; Or, How One Lavatory Became a Gentleman’s Loo.” Victorian Literature and Culture, vol. 36, no. 1, Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 79–94, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40347594.

Morrison, in his article on the emergence of public indoor restrooms during the Victorian era,comments upon how a pleasing aesthetic approach to bathroom design during this period spawned a certain "gentleman hospitality." While most of the sources I have previously been utilizing look at lavortories in private homes, Morrison gives a great account on what public restrooms were like during the latter half of the Victorian era. He makes note of how cast-iron lavatories were being replaced with nice marble new ones that specifically had hand basins for washing up after using the facilities. The presence of lavatory antendies and the gentlemanly culture that surrounded these areas goes to further signify the power that these everyday remodelings, like the hand basins, had upon Victorian society and gendered culture. The inclusion of them being public as well helped to blur the line between classes as they were accessible to all and not restricted to those of only high stature. 

Source 5:

Halliday, Stephen. “Chapter 2: The Water-Closet: ‘No Filth in the Sewers, All in the River.’” The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis, History Press, Stroud, 2009. Pg. 52-75.

Halliday's exploration into the "Great Stink of London" that drove Members of Parliament from the House of Commons in 1858 due to the sewage smell is a great resource within his preliminary research of the London plumbing and home sewage system. My research primarily focuses on chapter two as the event itself is not what I am interested in, but instead the consequences of the mass use of water basins as sewage methods amongst the public. For within chapter 2, Halliday explores the history of the water closet that utilizes the water basin on the top of the design like previously discussed; Halliday talks about how the water closet went from being an invention lost to history and its re emergence of it in the early 1600s. Then, the water closet was ignored until it got patented in the late 1700s, and finally by the 1840s the installment of them in private homes had expanded tenfold from the last twenty years. For while not the most in-depth account of the object itself, this article stands as the historic backing for the water basin in the pan closet design, and how the use of it grew exponentially throughout the Victorian period.