A lavatorium (plural ''lavatoria''), also

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as laver and lavatory, was the communal washing area in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, particularly in medieval abbeys and cathedral

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s were required to wash before meals; thus the lavatorium was typically adjacent to the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

Description

Much Wenlock, priory latrines - geograph

All monastic orders required

handwashing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hands ...

before meals. A lavatorium was therefore provided near the refectory, either against one wall of the cloister with a long trench basin, or as a free-standing building with a circular or octagonal basin in the centre. An example of the first type, dating to the 14th century, survives at

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

, and has a towel cupboard nearby. At

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

, the lavatorium was a square building with a circular basin which was replaced in 1432–33 with one of marble. At

Wenlock Priory Wenlock Priory, or St Milburga's Priory, is a ruined 12th-century monastery, located in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, at . Roger de Montgomery re-founded the Priory as a Cluniac house between 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th-century mon ...

, the octagonal lavatorium, now ruined, was decorated with late-12th-century carved panels including one of Jesus with the apostles at the Sea of Galilee. There were sometimes taps; at Wenlock Priory, the water spouted from animal heads mounted on the central pillar. Running water was supplied in lead pipes, and where there were taps they were bronze, although in most cases in England metal fittings have been removed since the dissolution of the monasteries. The monks' towels were kept nearby in cupboards called aumbries (derived from the Latin ''armarium'' or from Medieval Latin ''almarium''). The Refectorian was responsible for keeping the lavatorium clean and ensuring it contained sand and a whetstone for the monks to sharpen their knives, and for changing the towels twice a week.Gasquet
pp. 78–79

Gallery

File:Carving,_Wenlock_Priory.jpg, Jesus calling the fishermen; 12th-century carving from lavatorium at Wenlock Priory,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

File:Carved arcade in the Lavatorium - geograph.org.uk - 1226728.jpg, Arcade in former lavatorium,

Kirkham Priory The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey. Th ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

(12th–13th century) File:SintBaafsGent 27-07-2008 16-52-24.JPG, 12th-century lavatorium at Abbey of St Bavo,

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, Belgium File:Thoronet Lavabo.JPG, 12th-century lavatorium at Thoronet Abbey in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, France File:Rueda - Claustro - Lavatorio con sala de calefacción al fondo.jpg, 13th-century lavatorium at

Rueda Abbey Rueda Abbey or Rueda de Ebro Abbey ( es, Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Rueda, or the "Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Wheel") is a former Cistercian monastery in Sástago in the Ribera Baja del Ebro comarca, province of Zaragoza, Aragon ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, Spain File:Maulbronn Kloster Kreuzgang Brunnenhaus 5.jpg, 14th-century lavatorium at

Maulbronn Monastery Maulbronn Monastery (german: Kloster Maulbronn) is a former Cistercian abbey and ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire located at Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg. The monastery complex, one of the best-preserved in Europe, was named a UNESCO ...

, Germany, exterior File:Maulbronn Kloster Kreuzgang Brunnenhaus Innen Brunnen 2.jpg, Maulbronn Monastery lavatorium, interior File:Caen abbayeauxdames lavatorium est.JPG, Lavatorium at

Abbaye aux Dames An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Cantharus (Christianity) A cantharus, also known as a phiala, is a fountain used by Christians for ablution before entering a church. These ablutions involve the washing of the hands, face, and feet. The cantharus is traditionally located in the exonarthex of the church. ...

Hygiene in Christianity In certain denominations of Christianity, hygiene in Christianity includes a number of regulations involving cleanliness before prayer, as well as those concerning diet and apparel. History The Bible has many rituals of purification relating ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em Christian monastic architecture Monasteries Sanitation