Friary Reredorter black plaque

This black commemorative plaque records: FRIARY REREDORTER The Friary Reredorter was built shortly before 1373 as a dual-purpose building providing toilet facilities for the friars and strengthening the defences of this part of the town. A tall square tower, mounting two guns in time of war, it projected beyond the town wall allowing the main drain to discharge into the town ditch. Access from the Friary Dorter, or dormitory, was by an elevated walkway across the roadway called Back of the Walls. The Reredorter went out of use in the Sixteenth Century and was converted into a dwelling in the late Eighteenth Century. Recorded plaque organisation: City of Southampton.

The Friary Reredorter, built before 1373, served as both toilet facilities for friars and a defensive structure, highlighting medieval urban planning and military architecture. Its conversion into a dwelling in the late Eighteenth Century reflects changes in religious and civic functions within towns over time.