HISTORY TRAIL AT STONE COURT HOUSE

THE MEDIEVAL TOILET — A Rare Garderobe Survival

The Medieval Toilet, or garderobe, is one of the most remarkable surviving clues to the older house hidden within Stone Court House. It reveals how the building worked in practical terms and shows that this was once a substantial medieval residence with advanced domestic arrangements for its time.

 

History & Story

The Medieval Toilet — A Rare Garderobe Survival

During restoration, evidence of both a ground-floor garderobe and a demolished first-floor garderobe was identified. The surviving wooden door lintel, still visible protruding through the later 18th-century staircase, helps visitors understand how much of the medieval house remains embedded within later Georgian alterations. A further intriguing detail is the secret entrance to the now-demolished first-floor garderobe, accessed through Saban and Belinda's private bedroom and believed to date to the 16th century.

Garderobes were practical but important features in high-status medieval buildings. Their presence suggests a level of comfort, planning, and sophistication that supports the idea that a grand medieval house once stood here before the Georgian and judicial phases of Stone Court House.

Today, the Medieval Toilet gives visitors a rare and tangible connection to everyday life in the medieval building, reminding us that history is found not only in grand rooms, but also in the practical spaces people used daily.

Personal Restoration Note

Finding evidence of the garderobes brought the medieval house to life in a surprisingly human way. It reminded us that history is not only about grand rooms and official names, but also about the ordinary practical needs of the people who lived here. The secret entrance to the demolished first-floor garderobe, reached through our private bedroom, made that connection feel even more personal, as though one of the house's hidden routes had quietly survived into our own daily life.

CALL NOW

 

Historical Significance
A reminder that public authority rested on private concentration, and that judgement was formed in stillness long before it was delivered in the courtroom.

 

Did You Know?

  A garderobe was a medieval toilet, often built into the thickness of a wall or arranged to discharge outside the building.

  Stone Court House contains evidence of both a ground-floor garderobe and a rare first-floor garderobe.

  First-floor garderobes are now rare survivals in domestic medieval buildings. They are better known from castles, monasteries, and a small number of high-status houses, making the evidence at Stone Court House especially exciting.

  The surviving timber lintel near the later staircase shows how medieval fabric remained embedded within the Georgian building.

  A secret entrance to the now-demolished first-floor garderobe survives through Saban and Belinda's private bedroom and is believed to date to the 16th century.

  Practical features such as garderobes are valuable evidence that this was once a substantial, high-status medieval residence.