March 2024 Picture of the Month

 

The beautiful remains of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, one of the largest-surviving mediaeval abbeys in the country. This view focuses on the domestic facilities rather than the religious ones – the archways at the left of the picture give access to the late 12th century lay brothers' toilet block, known in mediaeval times as the 'Rerdorter' – literally' .the room behind the dormitory'. The picture features in a yet-to-be-published article, 'Flushed Away', on the history of the toilet.and the environmental challenges and opportunities of dealing with human waste. The photograph was taken about thirty years ago, when I carried the massive, but absolutely brilliant, Fujifilm GX680 camera around with me on my travels. I was a lot fitter back then! Fujifilm GX680, 100mm lens, Fujichrome colour film.

 

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All images and text © John Hannavy