Third Class Baths

[Sahand Miraminy]

Hello Everyone,
I read somewhere before that there were
only two bathtubs in third class! Is this true? They must have been STINKY! If this is true, I wonder if they had to stay in lines waiting for their turn. DONT PUSH!! I am also wondering if anyone would know how much showers third class people took. Also I would like to know how much first and second class did. Poor Rose must have thought Jack stunk!!! Well Thanks!

~SAHAND

 

[Tom Bates]

Their were 4 baths on f deck and 2 womens wc and 3 mens wc on f deck. Their were no baths on e deck but their were 14 mens wc and 7 womens wc on e deck. on d deck there were no baths but 7 mens wc and 7 womens wc on d deck. hope it helps

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Hey Tom,
What is a wc? A shower type of thing? This was all for third class right? Well thanks!

Sahand

 

[Tom Bates]

A wc is what people in 1912 called a toilet. yes this is all for third class.the plans i have are from the shipbuilder. it is Possible they are baths not showen on the plans.

 

[Brent DeFatta]

If I am correct, I think "wc" stands for Water Closet. Is this correct, I forget where I heard that.
Brent D.

 

[Brandon Whited]

It either means water closet or wash closet. I think it might be wash closet.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Tom got it right. A water closet was the toilet.

 

[Dave Gittins]

The ship's plans sometimes refer to the same thing as a lavatory. The term 'toilet' seems to have crept in relatively recently. In my young day 'lavatory' was still current. It may be an England/America thing.

As far as baths go, if the third class went without a bath for a week, that was about par for the course. Even in the homes of the well-off, it was common for the servants to have only a 'lick and a promise' each day. Some of their masters did little more. Many quite grand homes did not have running water, much less running hot water, and the homes of the poor were even more primitive.

There's a hilarious scene in Shaw's contemporary play Pygmalion in which Liza Doolittle in introduced to the joys of a proper bath.

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hi Dave,

Just to note in the Shipbuilder the Parlour Suites and en-Suite rooms are noted as having a private bath and lavatory; while in First class Passenger Rate booklets [both pound Stirling and US dollar rate copies] the same rooms are listed as having a Private Bath and Toilet.

Hope that helps,
Lester

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for all the info so far but I just got a little more to ask please! So you guys are saying that 3rd class only had 4 baths! In the third class cabins there was wash basins am I right, not toilets right? So I guess they didnt shower for a week?! lol thats raunchy but o well poor things. THANKS AGAIN!

Sahand

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hi Sahand,

Other than the rooms which had a private bath and toilet; not even 1st Class staterooms had toilets. However I understand that all 3 passenger classes had chamber pots. - Perhaps someone can confirm or correct me on that?

As Dave advised weekly baths were common; even for the rich. They probably had fresh bath water; but for the lower classes I understand that a tub of water did the whole family. Many homes did not have running water and even if they did it was not heated. To achieve that they needed to boil the water and carry it in buckets to the bath tub. Always inside for the ladies; but I understand sometimes outside for the men folk. - Presumably out of sight of the neighbours.

Hope that helps,
Lester

 

[Dave Gittins]

Lester, I'm interested to see that 'toilet' was in use so early. It agrees with a source I found that places it in the early 20th century. I guess I moved in cruder circles. At home, it was the 'lavatory' or maybe the 'dike'. (At least we we too refined for the 'dunny' or worse).

Sahand, don't cry too much for the unwashed hordes. There's a current theory that says that the modern enthusiasm for hygiene is leaving the young with weak immune systems. Hence the present prevalence of asthma.

 

[Martin Pirrie]

Australian visitors to London often complain of the aroma in the London underground system which they, probably rightly, attribute to the apparent desire of the British to regain their immunity to various diseases by not washing as often as their antipodean tourists.

 

[John M. Feeney]

Gents: Do I remember correctly? When I visited London in the 1970's, I vaguely recall that, unlike the confusing American "bathroom" -- which may or may not contain any bath, but always has a toilet -- British "bathrooms" were quite separate from the WC, containing just the tub, and perhaps a sink and mirror. Is that correct? (The memory is of a venerable, old hotel where I'd stayed.)

Martin: The London underground, as you've described it, can't have *anything* over the Philadelphia subway sytem. There the aroma is more related to our side topic here, as that urban underground frequently doubles as one big WC for various homeless folk. (As I recall, the valuable lavatories are kept constantly locked.)

 

[Inger Sheil]

Ah Martin...yes, we do get that annual summer story in the media about temperatures on the Tube exceeding the legal limit for the transportation of animals, which is not a pleasant position to be in when one's travelling companions have decided to enhance their immune systems. Perhaps it's my trained antipodean nose that leads me to choose to walk on those days...

My father still remembers visiting Grimsby in the 50s and being informed by his lovely, warm hearted hosts that unfortunately there was no tub to be had...but he could have a good wash in the sink. It's a bit different from extremes of temperature down in Oz, which make frequent bathing a necessity - I found that in Singapore as well, when several showers a day didn't seem excessive.

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Hey Guys,
Um ew. First Class taking a shower
once a week! What?! I thought they would
take more baths than that on the Titanic since
the facilities were all there. I thought
that Titanic had toilets in first class staterooms or atleast the Parlor Suites. I have
read about some type of shower on the Titanic that its like a coffin sort of thing where u go into. (Very Ironic) Did the baths on the Titanic had shower heads so you can stand up? I saw it once in a type of kids book for it where you can see through it. (not Kens inside the titanic) Well they were standing up taking baths and going to the bathroom etc. I just think they would have took more showers aboard the ship since they had their little parties etc on the greatest ship that had a number of baths aboard. Someone please explain more to me!

THANKS ALOT EVERYONE,
Sahand

 

[Matthew Lips]

First class staterooms didn't have toilets? Chamber pots for Third class? And some diehards still want to be built an exact replica of this thing??

Ugh!! No way Jose. Now I'm DEFINITELY convinced it will never happen!

 

[Dave Gittins]

There's a fairly familiar publicity drawing that shows a woman about to enter a first class bathroom. There appears to be a shower head above the bath, which was a common practice until relatively recent times. (At least as late as the 1950s).

Sahind, I think the 'coffin sort of thing' you are thinking of was the 'electric bath', which was a personal Turkish bath. It contained heaters, but no water was involved.

Matthew is quite right. Modern voyagers wouldn't last a day on Titanic. For one thing, they'd mostly die of seasickness in any sort of a seaway. Then those chamber pots would really take a beating.

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

A photo might be helpful:

This is the same bathroom, a real photo of it (right) and the one from the ad that Dave mentioned (left).

The showerhead can be seen in both pictures. It is of course disgusting for us to consider not washing for a whole week, but back in those days it was common. Perhaps the 1st class passengers only washed once every so many days (and did not wait a week). I’m not sure, but I think some cultures today still only have weekly baths.


Daniel.

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all the help and I dont want to be getting annoying about this but...Who cleaned their chamber pots? Were they like Hey you! Change my diaper! If I do remember I thought that there was public bathrooms with toilets and the sewage went outside. (Lavatories) well thanks you guys and thanks for the picture! I dont want to be a pain but please help me out on this one!

Sahand