Hot and Cold Water in the Home

Abstract

The government’s Social Survey revealed in 1947 that 44% of British households had no piped, hot running water from a single heating source at all: ideal home models containing easily available hot and cold running water in the home, such as those at the ‘Britain Can Make It’ exhibition of 1946, were the stuff of fantasy or science fiction for a majority of Britons. This lack of hot running water placed an enormous physical burden on women in particular, who performed almost all domestic labour functions. Political parties’ need for women voters’ support was one reason why piped hot water to at least a sink and bath became near-ubiquitous, even in rural areas historically relatively deprived of direct supplies from the water mains.