washhouses

Washhouses are facilities designed for washing clothes and textiles, separate from the household washing area. They may be public or communal, and historically served as centers for laundering in urban or rural communities. In many places, they were purpose-built structures with rows of basins, troughs, and taps, and sometimes heating sources to provide hot water, drying areas, and space for ironing.

Public washhouses emerged in late 18th and 19th centuries as part of urban sanitation and social reform. In Britain, "washhouses" and "public laundries" were installed to relieve households, particularly for the poor, with funds from philanthropists and municipalities. In France, communal washhouses known as lavoirs or laveries dotted riversides and courtyards, often fed by communal wells; they also served as social venues for women to gather and exchange news. Similar facilities appeared in other parts of Europe and North America.

Typical features included long stone or brick troughs, wooden or metal scoops, rubbing boards, and wooden washboards; some had heated water or boiler rooms, drying racks, and ironing spaces. Over time, public washhouses declined as domestic washing machines, hydropower, and later electric appliances reduced the need for shared facilities. Laundries and laundromats supplanted many such institutions, especially in urban centers.

Today, remaining washhouses are largely preserved as historical sites, adaptive reuse projects, or as part of museums, while the term also persists in some regions to refer to standalone laundries or coin-operated devices in self-service facilities.