lavatorium

thumb|14th-century lavatorium at Gloucester Cathedral A lavatorium (plural lavatoria), also anglicised as laver and lavatory, was the communal washing area in a monastery, particularly in medieval abbeys and cathedral cloisters. Monks were required to wash before meals; thus the lavatorium was typically adjacent to the refectory.

==Description== thumb|left|Ruins of octagonal lavatorium at Wenlock Priory All monastic orders required handwashing before meals. A lavatorium was therefore provided near the refectory, either against one wall of the cloister with a long trench basin, or as a free-standing building with a circular or octagonal basin in the centre. An example of the first type, dating to the 14th century, survives at Gloucester Cathedral, and has a towel cupboard nearby. At Durham Cathedral, the lavatorium was a square building with a circular basin which was replaced in 1432–33 with one of marble. At Wenlock Priory, the octagonal lavatorium, now ruined, was decorated with late-12th-century carved panels including one of Jesus with the apostles at the Sea of Galilee. There were sometimes taps; at Wenlock Priory, the water spouted from animal heads mounted on the central pillar.