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13 Day British Isles Medley Cruise
Oceania Nautica

Thursday, Sep 21, 2017
London, United Kingdom

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Thomas Crapper Tour

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Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, but he did make some improvements to it. Thomas Crapper openned one of the first, if not the first, bathroom fixtures stores including a row of flush toilets displayed prominently in the store windows. His company built, marketed, and shipped flush toilets throughout the world. His efforts were a major contribution to improving sanitary conditions in highly populous cities.




Photos taken along the route of the Thomas Crapper Tour.


Above are photos of the original Thomas Crapper factory and store. Today it houses a dress shop and the current occupants might have no idea or care about the history of their building.

Above is the Admiral Codrington Pub which is right across the street from the back of the original Thomas Crapper factory. Employees used to sneek out the back for a pint at this pub.


Keeping with the history, the Admiral Coderington Pub has reproductions of Crapper's Valveless Waste Preventer in both the Men's and Women's Restrooms. After many years of not being in business, the Thomas Crapper company reopened and now produces only high price reproductions of their original flush toilets. The reproductions, like the originals, proudly sported the company name, the model name (i.e., The Venerable, in this case, and were often quite decorated.

Located near the original Thomas Crapper factory and store is the original home office and factor of the Michelin Tyre Company.



A church that was standing during the lifetime of Thomas Crapper in the mid-1800's.

The Chelsea Potter Pub where we had lunch and a pint of beer after the end of the Thomas Crapper Tour.

The Hideaway Jazz Club


The Hideaway Jazz Club is definitely "Hidden Away". Though in London, it is a bit further out and took us almost an hour to get there by tube and train. We took the District Line from the Aldgate East Tube Station below the Ibis Shoreditch London Hotel to the Blackfriars Station. From there we took the Thameslink train to the Streatham Station. From the Streatham Station it is only about 1,000 feet. From the street you have to walk down a long narrow alley, take a right, and then walk more down an alley to enter from the back of the building. There are signs asking customers to be quiet outside the club when they leave late at night as there are people living and sleeping in the buildings on both sides of the long alley. (Note: It is also possible to take the District Line to Wimbledon and then take the Thameslink in the reverse direction heading back towards London Bridge to get to the Streatham Station. It really just depends on the time of day and the frequency of the Thameslink trains as to which route will be faster).


The GetUp Jazz Band playing at The Hideaway


Watching other trains go through as we wait for the one that will take us back to our hotel. While the London Tube Trains seem to have headways of only 1 to 5 minutes between trains, the Thameslinks trains have headways between 15 minutes and an hour depending on the day of the week and the time of day. London Tube Trains run so frequently that it seemed more like the wait time for an elevator than the wait time for a train!

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