Chamber pot, Europe, 1801-1900

Earthenware chamber pot, glazed and inscribed with poems

If British houses in the 1800s had toilets they were usually outside in the backyard or at the end of the garden. Chamber pots, which were usually kept under people’s beds, were often more convenient, especially on cold nights. This earthenware pot is inscribed with a poem called ‘Marriage’:

This Pot is A Present Sent

Some mirth to make is only meant

We hope the same you’ll not refuse,

But keep it safe and of it Use

When you want to Piss

Remember them who sent you this present

and the additional lines

What do I see,

Keep me clean and use me well

and what I see I shall not tell.