The thunderbox is the slang name used to describe a chamber pot enclosed in a box. 

'By the beginning of the 19th century in Great Britain, the nobility decided that they wished to remove the chamber pot (and the unpleasant smells that it invariably brought with it) from their boudoirs and into a separate location for answering the call of nature. Enter the thunderbox.' quote from Leftloos, a provider of portable toilet hire for festivals and other events.

Many fine Victorian examples, beautifully made with mahogany and brass, can still be seen in stately homes around the UK, such as Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire. English Heritage now owns the house and gardens. The fashion and celebrity photographer, Cecil Beaton even added a thunderbox to his London flat, originally from Wilton House in Wiltshire. The flat was featured in the interiors magazine House & Garden in the 1950s. Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, Julie Montagu has also featured the thunderbox toilet on the West Dorset, Mapperton family estate using her Instagram, @juliemontagu. Amusingly, British politician, Ed Milliband also featured the thunderbox toilet in a BBC Radio 2 phone-in show. The Mirror news online reported how he had enthusiastically delighted on air about these old-fashioned thrones. 

Tempted?  StiffKey Bathrooms, based in Norfolk, currently has a Victorian mahogany thunderbox commode with original brassware C.1840 for sale. They state it can be converted for use and plumbed in with a concealed cistern. Sanitaryware specialist dealers such as Stiffkey can be found listed in the Salvo online dealer directory.

Reprint of an old letter to SalvoNEWS from November 1992:

'The name Thunderbox originated in India. The boxes were beautifully made by skilled carpenters using the most expensive woods. The floor of the commode was usually lined with copper, and a perfectly fitting, secure, trap-door at the rear allowed the container's bucket's regular removal. 

The fine tolerances involved in the construction of the lid and trap-door were to prevent the entrance of insects and snakes into the cool interior. District Officers toured with them annually, and i dare say the military's scornful reference to commercial people as 'Box Wallahs' had something to do with our subject. 

Bomb disposal officers will confirm that to contain an explosion serves only to exaggerate the report. The exposure of newly arrived soldiery in India to curry and boxes led to much ribaldry as one would expect. 

The expression Thunderbox quickly came home with the Army and stuck.

Yours Aye,

Tony Swayne, Drummonds of Bramley.'

Note: Tony served in the Army, reaching the rank of major, and worked at Drummonds in the later part of his life.

FYI SalvoWEB currently has a Wanted advert for a Thunderbox: 'I need a replacement bowl for a Dent & Hellyer valve closet in good condition. Happy to buy the whole closet if necessary, including the metalwork and wooden enclosure. I need several really so even if you see this several years after the date of listing it is very likely I still would be interested.'

George Jennings Ltd