Stop 11 of 33

The Underground Toilets

Full walk Blue · 35 min Green · 70 min Orange · 70 min

Until the early 1980s there were public toilets beneath the pavement at the park entrance, where Drummond Place, Kings Park Road and Victoria Place meet — the junction now occupied by the roundabout. They are still under there: the roof sits only a few inches below the soil of the parterres around the fountain, which is why the beds above can carry nothing but shallow planting.

They were built below ground and lit from above through glass-brick skylights set into the pavement, a common arrangement in Victorian and Edwardian towns. Two stairways led down, screened from view by hedges, with the ladies' entrance on one side and the gentlemen's on the other as you left the park.

Local recollection places their removal in the early 1980s. The ornamental drinking fountain nearby stands close to where one of the entrances came up.

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Close by

Kings Park Drinking Fountain Stop 12 A cast-iron fountain of 1934 from the Lion Foundry, B-listed and restored in 2006.
Roman Road Stop 10 A Roman road runs under the park, found by excavation — its exact route still unknown.
Community Gardens Stop 9 A sheltered suntrap with seats, a pollinator border, and a handkerchief tree that flowers in late spring.