Stairhead Toilets

[DannyGill]

Hi Gang,
Who remembers the toilet on the tenements stair head's where families on the same landing shared that communal toilet, you would have square sections of newspaper cut and hung on a piece of string [sometimes at an angle of 45 degrees !!!]. Each family would have a key for the toilet or lavvy as it was nicknamed but some times your toilet wasn't working and you had to go either upstairs or downstairs to use their toilet, If I remember right you had to knock on your neighbours door and ask for a loan of their toilet key. In the Winter nights you sometimes took a candle on a saucer and lit it to give you some light. I believe some tenements had an inside toilet but they were few and far between ?. My girlfriend in the late 60's lived in the Dennistoun area of Glasgow and her Mother had an inside toilet with an electric light inside !!!. Then when the greater Gorbals area was demolished we were moved out to these new housing schemes and we had the luxury of having a bath and a toilet inside our new houses, we thought we had won the football pools but sadly whole communities were lost when we moved to different areas and that was very sad.

[Jimbo]

I can only speak for Naburn street and Number 87 in particular, this was where my aunt and uncle lived along with my gran. They both lived on the 1st floor and this landing had three flats one on the left, one on the right and one (a single end) in the middle. The single end looked out onto the street and had no toilet. the ones on the left and right had a room overlooking the street with a lobby connecting to the kitchen which overlooked the backyard which had a washhouse as well as the midden! The lobby had a coal bunker in it as well as a toilet. The tenant of the single end would be expected to use the "cludgie" on the next floor up. My gran lived in the single end but her daughter (my aunt) had the flat on the right so she never had occasion to use the communal stairhead toilet, fortunately!

[amelia]

I All
When our family lived in Salisbury we stayed in a single end and didn't have a toilet but we got a move to the first close and they were room and kitchens with an inside toilet, it had a wee narrow window up high which looked onto the stairhead, it was pure heaven.
Amelia x

[DannyGill]

I All
When our family lived in Salisbury we stayed in a single end and didn't have a toilet but we got a move to the first close and they were room and kitchens with an inside toilet, it had a wee narrow window up high which looked onto the stairhead, it was pure heaven.
Amelia x

Hi Amelia,
I never thought there were inside toilets in the tenements but it just shows you how wrong I was, Jimbo mentioned this too. I used to hate it in the winter nights having to go doon the stairs to the cludgie and would leave it for as long as possible, then when I couldn't wait any longer I would trek down the stairs only to find that it was occupied by one of the neighbours [arghhhhh!!]. Ach you live and learn Amelia and remember for emergency use during the night you had the old trusted PO [Chamber Pot to be politically correct nowadays ha ha]. Our grandchildren will laugh at our antics but this was a fact of life in those days.
Regards .
Danny .

[Granny911]

Hi Danny
My aunt lived in the next close to us in Logan Street and had an outside toilet, we had an inside toilet, and yes with an electric light! My Dad owned his house it was a two bedroom, whereas my aunt's was a one bedroom (or a room and kitchen as we used to say) and her rent was paid to the factor. Think one of her neighbours rigged up a light in the outside toilet. Remember staying with her and dreading the late night visits to the toilet. Cheers, Sheila

[DannyGill]

Hi Danny
My aunt lived in the next close to us in Logan Street and had an outside toilet, we had an inside toilet, and yes with an electric light! My Dad owned his house it was a two bedroom, whereas my aunt's was a one bedroom (or a room and kitchen as we used to say) and her rent was paid to the factor. Think one of her neighbours rigged up a light in the outside toilet. Remember staying with her and dreading the late night visits to the toilet. Cheers, Sheila

Hi Shelia,
Yes was a bit of a nightmare alright going to the "lavvy" when it was dark, I hope all is well with you all and it won't be long till I meet up with Rosemary here in London , she e-mailed me a photo of her goodself and my 1st cousin Shuggie Hendry. He's exactly as I remembered him , that would have been about 45 years ago.
Regards.
Danny

[Granny911]

Hi Danny,
Aye it was a right fright going to the stair head toilets in the late night, never knew who you might run into, maybe even the bogey man!
I'm fine thanks, and hope this finds you well also. Rosemary sent me a copy of that photo of Shuggy and it seemed like it was only yesterday we were all knocking about Oatlands. Hope you and Rosemary have a lovely visit I'm sure you'll have a lot in common and have a great time wandering down memory lane. I haven't seen Rosemary in 44 years, it's been great catching up with her again and wish I was joining you both for a wee blether. Bye for now and let me know how much fun you and Rosemary have. Cheers, Sheila