Toilets through time: Anglo-Saxon and Norman cesspits
David Musgrove talks to Dr Katherine Weikert about the Anglo-Saxon and Norman toilet experience
Published: November 19, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Did King Edmund Ironside die on the toilet? Why did the rich and powerful in Anglo-Norman England want their clothes to smell of poo? And could you use the facilities in front of an audience? These are just some of the questions tackled in this episode of our Toilets through Time, where David Musgrove talks to Dr Katherine Weikert about the Anglo-Saxon and Norman toilet experience.
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Authors
Dr David MusgroveContent director, HistoryExtra.com
David Musgrove is content director of the HistoryExtra.com website and podcast, plus its sister print magazines BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed. He has a PhD in medieval landscape archaeology and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
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