This is a History Extra production.

What was it like to do your business in a Roman communal toilet?

Why was the devil thought to lurk inside medieval privies?

Did constipation turn Henry VIII into a tyrant?

And how did Victorian sewers revolutionise Britain's cities?

I'm David Musgrove, and in this four-part series, Toilets Through Time, I'm heading down the U-Bend in the company of leading historical experts to see what we can learn from the most universal of all experiences, going to the loop.

From the sociable long-drops of Roman Britain and the draughty medieval guard robes to the plush

water closets of Henry VIII and the cesspits of the Victorian slums, we'll revisit lavatory's

long past to uncover what we can learn about our ancestors from their toilet habits. In this episode, we found ourselves in the dark and dangerous world of medieval latrines.

Helping us navigate the risks of fire, filth and eternal damnation that came with paying a visit in the Middle Ages is Dr James Wright.

He's an author, Buildings Archaeologist and medieval Mythbuster,

who believes that we should all be talking more about toilets.

James, welcome to the podcast, Howie.

Thanks very much, Dave. I'm really good.

I'm always happy to talk toilets.

It's one of my favourite subjects, mainly because I think it's rather overlooked. There's so many

architectural historians who just completely ignore toilets and their uses and their attitudes

towards them, I think, out of prudishness. So I'm always happy to talk toilets. Excellent.

Right. Well, let's get into this then. What do we know about toilets in the medieval period, James? What can we say about it to kick things off?

Well, I suppose we might start by saying what the common perception of going to the toilet is, or the common perception towards the medieval periods.

And if you were to look at many film representations of

the medieval period, it's portrayed as being a really dank, dirty, unsanitary environment to be in,

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