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The high-level flushing toilet


So we flush

Flushing toilet

At Miss Sneum’s, a high-level flushing toilet with a “pull-and-release” mechanism has been installed. This type of toilet changed very little from the late nineteenth century, when the first examples were installed in Danish homes, until around 1974.


The water closet

The invention of the first water-flushing toilet in a form similar to those we know today is attributed to the Englishman John Harrington in 1596. In 1775, the Scotsman Alexander Cummings patented his water closet, which introduced a water trap as a new feature.

The water closet then became popular in major European cities, but in Copenhagen the waste from early toilets was discharged directly into the gutters. For this reason, it was forbidden for many years to install toilets in private homes.

Tårnborg

Did you know?

Did you know that Queen Elizabeth I of England had one of Sir John Harrington’s water closets installed around 1600?

Did you know that the words “Pull & Release” were printed on cistern handles as operating instructions? To flush, you would pull the handle and let go immediately.

Did you know that Nakskov became the first Danish town with a sewer system in 1884, allowing private toilets to be connected legally? It was not until ten years later that Copenhagen gained the same privilege.

Sir John Harrington (c. 1590)
Painting by Hieronimo Custodis