Historic ladies loos given protection for the future
Underground toilets on Seaburn seafront dating back to the Edwardian period have received a Grade II listing.
Historic England has announced that Seaburn tram shelter and the tram shelter toilets on Whitburn Road, have been given listed building status, giving them greater protection and recognition.
Dating back to sometime between 1901 and 1904 – the toilets are historically significant as a rare early examples of lavatories that catered for women.
Most toilets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were designed for men only, while women were restricted by the 'urinary leash' – forcing them to stay close to home.
But at the end of the 19th century ladies lavatories started to appear when businesses realised that women had spending power.
The Seaburn toilets retain many of their original features including hand basins, urinals and toilets, as well as the decorative partitions in the washroom, and cubicles.
They closed in the 1960s but were restored and opened again in 2018 by Sunderland City Council.
Council Leader Councillor Graeme Miller, said: "The listing is fantastic news for Sunderland’s rich history and culture.
"It's only right that these two fantastic buildings at what was once the terminus of the tramline to Seaburn, should be recognised for their historic value.
"The city council's sympathetic restoration of the tram shelter toilets shows what can be achieved when bringing historic and little used buildings back into use.
"The listing of the tram shelter and the tram shelter toilets just adds to our ambitious plans for the seafront, which has seen such an amazing transformation in recent years, and for the wider city with investment under way across Sunderland, including significant developments in the city centre."
The new listings join other historic loos across North East England, including a communal toilet at a Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall.
Veronica Fiorato, team leader for Listing in Northern England, said: “The lavatories in Seaburn reflect the emerging changing social status of women at the beginning of the 20th century.
"The appearance of toilets like these represented the gradual opening up of a world of new leisure and work opportunities previously unavailable to women.”