Art / Getting Up To Stuff
‘Loo Ladies’ sculpture returns
Victoria Hughes has returned in sculpture form next to a toilet block on the Downs.
From 1929 to 1962, Hughes worked as a cloakroom attendant in the toilets, befriending and caring for women working as prostitutes.
The sculpture by Getting Up To Stuff was originally unveiled in 2021 and has now returned after being restored by the anonymous Bristol artist.
The sculpture in the shadow of the water tower depicts Hughes sharing a cup of tea with one of the sex workers who used to ply their trade on nearby Ladies Mile.
Getting Up To Stuff’s sculpture of Victoria Hughes and a young woman has returned next to the toilet block where she worked – photo: Megan Faulk
Considered Bristol’s red light district during the twentieth century, Ladies Mile was a workplace for many women.
Hughes kept a kettle in the toilet building, offering tea and company to the women working.
Adopting the ‘loo lady’ name that Hughes coined for herself, the ‘Loo Ladies’ sculpture depicts the relationship between Hughes and the women she befriended.
In 2022, Kerris Harrop launched a crowdfunding campaign to republish Hughes’ memoir, Ladies’ Mile. All profits from the sale of the book go to the hopeful restoration of the Victorian toilet.
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Getting Up To Stuff is holding his biggest fundraising event yet on Sunday at Bath Racecourse featuring a live creation of a temporary art installation. For more information, visit www.justgiving.com/page/giveasheet
Main photo: Megan Foulk
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