Gentlemens Underground Lavatory and Above Ground Structures: Ventilation Shaft and Railings and 4 Bollards and Cattle Trough is a Grade II listed building in the Lambeth local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 October 2001. Public conveniences, ventilation shaft.
Gentlemens Underground Lavatory and Above Ground Structures: Ventilation Shaft and Railings and 4 Bollards and Cattle Trough
- WRENN ID
- shifting-trefoil-tallow
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Lambeth
- Constituency
- Vauxhall and Camberwell Green MP: Florence Eshalomi (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 October 2001
- Type
- Public conveniences, ventilation shaft
- OS grid reference
- TQ 312 783
- Coordinates
- 51.48891, -0.11101
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
This gentlemen's public lavatory, built around 1900, includes above-ground structures such as a ventilation shaft, railings, four bollards, and a cattle trough. It was constructed following the 1891 Public Health/London Act by the local authority, with fittings provided by Finch and Co. of Lambeth. The horse trough, attributed to the Metropolitan Drinking Trough Association, may date from around 1880.
Inside, the lavatory features original white tiled walls, ten urinal stalls with white porcelain bases, and black marble modesty screens adorned with ceramic roundels inscribed "B Finch and Co Limited, Sanitary Engineers, Lambeth SE." There are painted wooden cubicles and a multi-coloured mosaic floor. An attendant's kiosk is present, featuring wooden panelling and a high-level cast iron water tank, with each of the three glass panels having a generous bevelled edge.
At the top of the steps, ornamental cast iron railings with spear railings and a scroll design are complemented by octagonal corner piers with moulded bases and caps. The ventilation shaft rises about 20 feet and is made of cast iron, topped with a crown-shaped moulding and a panelled square plinth inscribed "B Finch and Co Ltd Lambeth." Adjacent to the railings is a rectangular stone cattle drinking trough, which is inscribed "METROPOLITAN DRINKING FOUNTAIN & CATTLE TROUGH ASSOCIATION" on a lower dog trough, flanked by two curbing stones.
Local climate
Gentlemens Underground Lavatory and Above Ground Structures: Ventilation Shaft and Railings and 4 Bollards and Cattle Trough sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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