Gentlemens Urinal

TG 2209 SE NORWICH ST CRISPIN'S ROAD (South side)

1188/10/10037 Gentlemen's Urinal

• II

Public urinal. 1919 by A.E. Collins, City Engineer. Pre-cast reinforced concrete; glazed roof. EXTERIOR: decagonal single-storey structure with single entrance to south-west. Each facet consists of 3 concrete panels on a concrete plinth, the panels cast with an embossed repeating floral pattern and painted. Each facet with 2 rectangular ventilation slots under the moulded cornice and above a moulded string course. 2-stage pyramid roof of 10 cast concrete ribs with glazed panels. Ball finial. INTERIOR: ball finial converts to conical drop pendant on interior. Concrete baffle wall in front of doorway. Concrete floor and waste trough. Concrete urinals arranged in a three-quarter circle and painted with bituminous compound. HISTORICAL NOTE: this urinal is thought to be the oldest surviving concrete urinal in Britain. In the 1880s several of this type were made for the City of Norwich Corporation and set up in prominent city-centre sites. All have been demolished. BIBLIOGRAPHY: N. Pevsner & B. Wilson, Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East (Buildings of England Series), 2nd edition, 1997, p. 291.

Listing NGR: TG2261509243