Arthurian Toilets
Glastonbury, England — In 1191 the Glastonbury Abbey was in financial trouble. The abbot directed the monks to dig in a particular spot in the cemetery, where they found a large oak casket holding a man and woman. Obviously this was Arthur and Guinevere! Well, there was a lead cross enscribed in Latin, reading something like Here lies Arturus, king of the Britons. So they were moved to a new tomb in what was then a fairly new cathedral. And so you can stand in one spot and see two tombs of Arthur and Guinevere.
| Original | New | |
| British Grid | ST 49993 38819 | ST 50103 38843 |
| UTM | 30U 0519843 5666142 | 30U 0519954 5666168 |
| Lat/Lon | N 51 08.783' W 002 42.979' | N 51 08.797' W 002 42.884' |
To the north-east of the cathedral and just beyond the monks' quarters is a plumbing contraption with a mysterious sign REREDORTER. Elsewhere a map labels it Rere Dorter.
This was the monks' toilet. It is fed by small pipes entering at the upper end (right foreground in upper-left image, closest to the viewer in the lower-right image). That flow was separated into two channels down either side of the structure. I imagine a large open room with toilets down the opposing long walls. The channels then join and disappear into a drain that ominously leads toward the abbot's kitchen (the conical structure seen in the image at lower-right). Not a good sanitary design, putting your group toilet uphill of the kitchen!
Looking SW over the rere dorter toward the abbey |
Looking north over the rere dorter |
Detail of the rere dorter |
Looking south over the rere dorter toward the kitchen |
Tradition dates the establishment of the abbey to 63 AD and the visit of Joseph of Arimathea.
What is known is that there was a community of monks during the reign of King Ine of Wessex, who is said to have directed the construction of a stone church in 712. New cloisters were built in the 960s. In September 1539 the abbey was stripped of its valuables, and the abbot was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1539. This was during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England, 1536-1541. See the Wikipedia page for more on Glastonbury Abbey.
Also see the Medieval Scottish Toilets page for other ecclesiastical toilets of similar vintage.
| A Sani-Flush blue border indicates a toilet that I've used. |
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