This garderobe is built inside a projection of the east wall of the north-south range of the room, bridging the space between the wall and a flying buttress into which its further end is built, and was used as a toilet. This buttress seems to to have been dismantled and rebuilt hollow, re-using most of the ashlar and, ingeniously, the gargoyle. It seems to have been a kind of a flushing toilet, as the rain that fell on the parapet of the roof was led into the back of the garderobe itself to flush it out and from there further down until the water was discharged mid-way up the buttress into the Chapter House Yard.
It seems that the room was equipped with everything that would allow people to spend many hours in the room, work in satisfactory conditions and have an adequate level of comfort.
Fig.1: The garderobe Fig.2: The model's garderobe
Fig.3: The model's garderobe and its surroundings
Fig. 4: The room's garderobe and its surroundings.
Page created 23 August 2002 by Vicky Sypsa
Last updated 30 August 2002
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