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Thomas Crapper

Thomas Crapper

Born baptised 28 September 1836
Waterside, Thorne, Yorkshire, England
Died 27 January 1910
Anerley, Bromley, England, United Kingdom
Occupation industrialist, plumber

Thomas P. Crapper (baptised 28 September 1836 - 27 January 1910) was a plumber who founded Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd. in London. Contrary to widespread misconceptions, Crapper did not invent the toilet, nor is the word crap derived from his name. He did, however, do much to increase the popularity of the toilet, and did develop some important related inventions, such as the ballcock. He was noted for the quality of his products and received several Royal Warrants.

(The flushing toilet was invented by Sir John Harrington in 1596. Joseph Bramah of Yorkshire patented the first practical W.C. in England in 1778. Edward Jennings in 1852 also took out a patent for the flush-out toilet.[1][2] The word crap actually derives from Dutch (krappe), and first came into use centuries before Crapper was born.)

The manhole covers with Crapper's company's name on them in Westminster Abbey are now a minor tourist attraction.[3][4]

Contents

Company

The story of Thomas Crapper and his achievements has been somewhat confused by Wallace Reyburn's 1969 book Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper,[5] a heavily fictionalized satirical biography in the style of scholarship.[6] Adam Hart-Davis's later writings on Crapper help set the record straight.[7] Crapper was born in Waterside, Yorkshire (near Thorne), in September 1836 (the exact date is unknown but he was baptised on 28 September 1836). His father Charles was a steamboat captain. At the age of 14, Crapper was apprenticed to a master plumber in Chelsea, London. After his apprenticeship and three years as a journeyman plumber, in 1861 he founded his own company at Robert Street, Chelsea. In 1866, he moved the business to nearby Marlborough Road (now part of Draycott Avenue).

Thomas Crapper did not invent all of the flush toilet; some credit for that is usually given to Sir John Harrington in 1596, with Alexander Cummings' 1775 toilet regarded as the first of the modern line and George Jennings installing the first public toilets at The Great Exhibition in 1851\; but he did help increase its popularity. He was a shrewd businessman, salesman and self-publicist. In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, he heavily promoted sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.

Thomas Crapper Branding on one of his company's toilets

In the 1880s, Prince Edward (later Edward VII) purchased his country seat of Sandringham House in Norfolk and asked Thomas Crapper & Co. to supply the plumbing, including thirty lavatories with cedarwood seats and enclosures, thus giving Crapper his first Royal Warrant. The firm received further warrants from Edward as King and from George V both as Prince of Wales and as King. Contrary to popular belief, however, Crapper never received a knighthood and was never styled Sir Thomas Crapper.

In 1904, Crapper retired, passing the firm to his nephew George and his business partner Robert Marr Wharam. Crapper lived at 12 Thornsett Road, Anerley SE20 7XE,[8] for the last thirteen years of his life and died on 27 January 1910. He was buried in the nearby Beckenham Cemetery.[9]

In 1966, the company was sold by then-owner Robert G. Wharam (son of Robert Marr Wharam) on his retirement, to their rivals John Bolding & Sons. Bolding then went into liquidation in 1969. The company fell out of use until it was acquired by Simon Kirby, a historian and collector of antique bathroom fittings, who relaunched the company in Stratford-upon-Avon, producing authentic reproductions of Crapper's original Victorian bathroom fittings.

Siphonic flush toilet

Crapper's Valveless Waste Preventer

Crapper held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating ballcock, but none were for the flush toilet itself. Thomas Crapper's advertisements implied the siphonic flush was his invention ; one having the text "Crapper's Valveless Water Waste Preventer (Patent #4,990) One movable part only"; but patent 4990 (for a minor improvement to the water waste preventer) was not his, but that of Albert Giblin in 1898.

His nephew, George Crapper, did improve the siphon mechanism by which the water flow is started. A patent for this development was awarded in 1897.

References

  1. ^ Krinsky, William L. (1999-03-02). "Of Facts and Artifacts" (in English). New York Times Editorial. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D7103CF931A35750C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 
  2. ^ Wilson, Blake (2008-12-16). "Tom the Plumber" (in English). New York Times - Paper Cuts. http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/tom-the-plumber/. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 
  3. ^ Goddard, Donald (1985-05-26). "GROUP WALKS GAIN GROUND IN LONDON" (in English). New York Times. pp. 2. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E6DB1639F935A15756C0A963948260&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 
  4. ^ "Thomas Crapper history, Westminster Abbey, Sandringham &c." (in English). Thomas Crapper & Co. LTD. 2004-01-24. http://www.thomas-crapper.com/history02.asp. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 
  5. ^ Reyburn, Wallace (1969). Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper. ISBN 1-85702-860-0. 
  6. ^ http://www.snopes2.com/business/names/crapper.htm
  7. ^ Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper: An Encyclopedia, Michael O'Mara Books; New Ed edition (10 Oct 1997), (ISBN 1854792504)
  8. ^ http://postcode.royalmail.com/portal/rm/postcodefinder;jsessionid=PREDAG1Y3KZICFB2IGIVEOQ?catId=400145&pageId=pcaf_pc_one_result_rm&_requestid=11253&gear=postcode
  9. ^ http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=SE20+7XE&countryCode=GB#map=51.39895,-0.05901|16|4&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:51.40385:-0.06459:16|SE20%207XE|SE20%207XE

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