We tend to think of bathrooms today as being a modern invention and in many ways they are. Bathing during Roman times was a communal affair but during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries the use of public baths began to decline and private spaces were preferred which paved the way for the modern bathrooms we are familiar with today. Wealthy households in Victorian and Edwardian Britain had splendid bathrooms but the vast majority of the people did not have that luxury, and the ‘old tin bath’ in front of the fire was the order of the day (but not necessarily every day!).