Toilet Dispute

From the collection of

Media Archive for Central England
MACE is the strategic lead organisation for screen heritage for the East and West Midlands regions. An independent charity based at University of Lincoln, MACE preserves and makes accessible a collection of more than 100,000 historic moving images representative of the diverse cultures and histories of communities throughout the heart of England from the Lincolnshire coast to the Welsh border.

Toilet Dispute


On the green it mars the scene. Disputes over a building that serves a vital purpose in Quorn village.

The building in question in Quorn village, Leicestershire was built in the early eighteenth century as a gaol and later used to store the village fire engine. Known locally as the 'lock-up' it was converted into a public toilet many years ago. In 1961 this Midland Montage report creatively told the story of the dispute using rhyming couplets.

It was a dispute that ran for a few years with the public toilets being closed in 1963. The local parish council wanted to demolish the toilets but were prevented from doing so by the Ministry of Works. It was later handed over to the Gas Board before being rescued and restored in 2010 when its usage was changed again to a pizza take-away.


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