Thirteenth Dig Day – Sunday 2nd June 2013

A mostly sunny day, and though digger numbers were low, the digging was good.

We were digging just inside the north boundary wall.

This north-west corner of the garden was the location of the outside toilet!

Excavation revealed a relatively thick layer of unmortared flints under the topsoil.

Surrounding these flints were roof slate fragments, as well as small fragments of brick and mortar, typical of the site’s demolition rubble. Sadly, there was clear evidence that the site of the toilet had been struck by a WW2 shell. The 1950’s bulldozer levelled off the site. Where the wall was cut by the bulldozer, we find the remains of the wall close to the surface. When cut by WW2 ordnance, the hollow crater left was filled by the bulldozer with demolition rubble. The latter was observed in this case. The flints may have come, in part, from the farmyard. The surviving childhood memories of the farmyard are that it had a cobbled surface.

The toilet seat would have been a wooden shelf with a hole in it with a bucket underneath. At least from about 1934-1938 it even had two doors! One for the people, which opened facing the house, and a smaller one to the side for the removal of the bucket.

We found a few nails – perhaps all that is left of this important structure. A washer, a piece of wire, and few shards of glass bottle and pot were also found, but no bucket!

Our only visitor was a violet ground beetle!