The Westoe Netty is a painting by

Robert Olley Robert "Bob" Olley (born 16 January 1940) is an artist and sculptor best known for his mining subjects, humorous drawings and paintings of everyday life, especially his iconic painting and internationally acclaimed ''Westoe Netty''. Career ...

. It depicts a historical scene inside a

public toilet A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

(

Netty Netty may refer to: * Netty (software), a Java project * North East England ( Geordie) dialect for toilet or public convenience *Netty (name) See also * Westoe Netty *Nethy (disambiguation) * Natty (disambiguation) *Netta (disambiguation) *Nett ...

is a

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

dialect word for toilet). Painted in 1972, it has become a cultural symbol of

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

working class history. Olley was a former

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

turned local artist, and his painting was inspired by a real toilet that was formerly sited in

Westoe Westoe was originally a village near South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, but has since become part of the town and is now used to refer to the area of the town where the village once was. It is also an electoral ward for local politics purposes. ...

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. His painting depicted six working class men and a little boy using the netty, which was used by workers travelling to the nearby Westoe

Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

. The painting portrays the wall of the netty covered in humorous and often vulgar

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, reflecting many local phrases and cultural references. The original toilet was built in 1890. When the area it was sited in was earmarked for regeneration, the toilet was saved from demolition by friends of the artist, who dismantled it and put into storage in 1996 in a local shipyard. In 2008 the toilet was rebuilt as a permanent exhibit at the

Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it wa ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, and opened on 25 July 2008 with a recreation of the picture's scene staged for the media.Famous Westoe netty finds home at Beamish
'' The Journal'', 26 July 2008 Unfortunately by 2010 the authenticity of the rebuilt North Eastern icon became a victim of its own success as its visitors thought it was for public use so a decision to retire it into temporary storage until funds allowed the Westoe Netty to be relocated, reconstructed and plumbed in as a working urinal.

References

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External links

Robert Olley's website
Tourist attractions in County Durham Culture in Tyne and Wear English paintings Toilets 1972 paintings Paintings in North West England