VISIT BROAD LEYS
The Bathrooms
"Nowt cleans like a Yorkshire bath!"
The house was originally designed with one ensuite, one general bathroom and a separate WC on the first floor. All are located on the north facing wing. The corridor to the separate WC provides ideal space for the linen cupboards.
In addition to bespoke copper pendants for the electric lighting (some of the very earliest examples) Voysey gave detailed attention to the aesthetics of some of the simplest bathroom accessories, like the soap dishes and water jugs!
The windows to each of the rooms are fine examples of the metal frames with small glass panes and beautiful yet effective closing mechanisms. The white tiles are also original.
The showers in the bathrooms and the ensuites in rooms 1,2 & 3 are also more recent additions circa 1987. The two porcelain baths are original and were chosen by Mr Currer-Briggs along with the specification for the plumbing. Arthur brought the baths from a manufacturer in Yorkshire. He also insisted that the hot water must run instantly to the baths with minimum waste of hot water in the pipes!
On the corridor to the bathrooms be sure to see Voysey’s beautifully detailed ventilation grille. Fellow Arts and Crafts pioneer William Morris famously declared “you should have nothing in your home that you do not consider beautiful or know to be useful”. These rooms demonstrate that with their woodwork, windows and simplicity.
The principal bathroom was originally ensuite to the master bedroom. If you look closely in the bathroom, you can see the join in the wood where the old doorway to the master bedroom once stood. The new wood work is in ash to show the change from oak in the original. This was changed circa 1987.
