ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Baths and wash houses in Britain

Okay kiddo, imagine you've been playing outside all day and you're covered in dirt and sweat. Gross, right? Well, back in the olden days in Britain, people didn't have their own bathrooms with showers like we do now. So if they wanted to get clean, they had to go to a special place called a bath or wash house.

At the bath or wash house, there were lots of big tubs filled with water. People would take turns getting in the tubs and scrubbing themselves clean with soap and a cloth. Sometimes, if they were feeling fancy, they could even pay extra to have someone else scrub them.

But why go all the way to a bath or wash house when you could just wash yourself at home? Well, for many people, especially those who lived in crowded cities or in homes without running water, going to the bath or wash house was their only option for getting clean. Plus, it was a social activity! People would go with their friends and gossip while they scrubbed.

So there you have it, a bath or wash house was where people went to get clean before modern bathrooms were invented. It was a place with big tubs of water where people would scrub themselves clean with soap and a cloth. And it was also a way for people to socialize with their friends while they got clean.