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This in the south wall of Harlech Castle. It's a bit hard to
see, but the photo shows three garderobe chutes, two on the left built into the castle
wall and one in the turret on the right. The one on the right is of special interest
to castle historians: it is called a corbelled (that is, built out) latrine turret and
is similar to those found in castles of the Savoy (an old region
where Switzerland, France, and Italy now intersect).
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Here's a better view of the latrine
turret, facing west towards the sand dunes and sea. The design is unusual and shows the
great pains Master James took to provide some comfort for the guards stationed there.
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This wall is part of the tower keep at Conisbrough
Castle in northern England. Two latrine chutes are clear. One at the bottom of
the photo, one (that looks more like a small fireplace) near the top. Both sent
waste to the base of the keep outside the castle.
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This is what the seat looked like at the garderobe near the top of
the tower before it was remodeled in more recent times.
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This is what the garderobe looks like today. The
view looking down through the toilet seat is still breathtaking.
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Chinon Castle in the Loire Valley of France is rich with history.
Joan of Arc, for example, was once imprisoned there, though not in this building (the
gatehouse). But enough about history, let's move on to the garderobes. You can see a
nice one on the right of the wall facing you (next to the lower pair of windows).
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Here's a closer view of the garderobe. It
was corbelled out from the wall and designed so that the waste just barely fell outside
the castle wall.
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This garderobe can be found at St. Andrews Castle in Scotland.
Thoughtful of the poor cesspool cleaners (but ignorant of sea creatures), this toilet
emptied directly into the sea. The bars were added to stop tourists from falling into the
sea. But nothing stops the wind from whistling up through the stone seat. And it's
quite a windy place, too!
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