Town Centre toilets
Superloos in the Subway
By Jennifer McCann
These facilities closed in November 2011. There are rumours about future development, but no plans for the building or even the entire network of subways have been made public.
Do you know when these were built? Researches suggest the late 60’s. They are certainly an early example of “green wall” or in this case, “green roof” design.
This page was added on 25/09/2012.
Add your comment about this page
Built late 60s I think. Construction took forever and I remember the site being a car park beforehand. I also recall the old police station next to the lot, which was demolished as part of the development. It had a net covered dog pound behind it — as a young child I was scared by the barking. Oh, and Munts bike and toy shop, with its mosiac doorway, bare plank floor, and bikes hanging from the rafters! Toys were at the back of the shop. Shortly before the multi-storey car park was built I recall passing by and seeing that mosiac threshold still there, long after the building had been demolished.
I forget the exact year that the subway and these toilets were built but I vaguely recall seeing the subway being built sometime around 1967 or 1968?. I vaguely recall the whole area outside the Welwyn Department stores becoming a bit of a building site for several months before the subway was opened.
There is a document at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies Ref. CNT/WH W/FD/74 which comes under the heading Estate Department Freehold Files and having read through this the dicussion about public conveniences in the town centre seemed to have begun in 1956/7. Various places were being concidered including. 1) The footpath between Wigmores North and Parkway, adjacent to Welwyn Theatre (when it was there). 2) Project “D” (what ever that was) 3) Putting toilets in car parks, there was already one at the bus station, they were thinking of putting one next to the Sub Station at the west end of Church Road car park and one in the Campus East car park 4) Underground conveniences in either Parkway or Howardsgate, although these were ruled out quite quickly. There is a plan dated December 1961 within the document which shows the bus station conveniences and the proposed roundabout site. No actual opening or building date is mentioned within the document and all correspondence seems to stop in July 1962.
My dad fell off the top of the subway loos cutting the grass and some of the council gardeners called it dalton drop