Celebrating the crapper
January 29th 2010 Thomas Crapper, the Victorian plumber and sanitaryware manufacturer whose name has become synonymous with the water closet, is commemorated in a new edition of Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper to mark the centenary of his death on 27 January 1910.
Although the founder of the Thomas Crapper company did not actually invent the toilet he did much to popularise it. Based in Chelsea, he opened the world’s first bathroom showroom in the 1870s and was soon invited by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) to supply sanitaryware for Sandringham, gaining his first Royal Warrant.
Flushed With Pride author Wallace Reyburn who died in 2001, traces the story of the development of the modern water closet as well as Thomas Crapper’s rise to fame. After the great man’s death in 1910, the company passed to his nephew George. In 1966 it was sold to rivals John Bolding & Son who unfortunately ‘went down the pan’ in 1969.
Several years later the firm was rescued by Simon Kirby who, as Managing Director and a recognised expert, has restored the company to a thriving business. The company offers an authentic range of Victorian/Edwardian sanitaryware. Unlike most ‘reproduction’ bathrooms, historical accuracy has been maintained with no changes to design. The new edition .benefits from a foreword written by Simon who says: -
“As an enthusiast and a collector of old loos, cisterns and general bathroom fittings, I was very fortunate to have acquired this famous old firm, which is a unique piece of Britain’s industrial heritage. We are ensuring Mr Crapper’s immortality in the most appropriate way by emblazoning his name on his own designs of china loo pans and cast metal cisterns! I am delighted to see this interesting and amusing book back in print and I was honoured to be asked to bring the story up to date.”
Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper by Wallace Reyburn (ISBN 978-0955954153) is published by the Polperro Heritage Press, price £6.95 from bookshops, also available by post from the Polperro Heritage Press, Clifton-upon-Teme, Worcestershire WR6 6EN at £9 including postage and packing. More articles from Cleaning Matters News Desk: | 
