Next time you are at The Sherborne, take a moment to spend a penny – and admire the truly remarkable toilets
The loos at The Sherborne are not just any old toilets. The recently-renovated arts centre is popular for its restaurant, gallery and exhibitions. Apparently, the loos are also a highlight.
Step into them and it’s like entering another world, thanks to the exotic, colourful décor and their impeccable cleanliness. There’s a definite wow factor as you enter these bathrooms. And that wow factor recently brought The Sherborne the national Quirky Loo of the Year award.
What are the Loo of the Year Awards?
We’ve all been to an unspeakable (in)convenience that we wish we had never found, so there is always a sense of relief to find pristine facilities in an unfamiliar place. The Loo of the Year Awards (LOTYA) are on a mission to encourage excellent standards in all loos away from home. The awards might sound fun, but they’re no joke. Running since 1987 and sponsored by Tork (a leading global brand of professional hygiene products), they operate on a grading system. Entrants have to agree to receive an unannounced visit from an inspector. Then, each washroom is judged on 101 criteria, including cleanliness, décor, signage, accessibility and customer care. The inspectors know what constitutes an excellent loo and they get to experience more bathrooms than most: in 2025, LOTYA inspectors visited more than 1,500 businesses including pubs, shopping centres, hotels, caravan and camping sites, motorway service stations, public toilets and private companies with staff facilities. There’s also a roll of honour for local authorities (apparently very popular in Scotland).
The Sherborne stands out because a very impressed member of the public nominated the facilities for an award – apparently it’s more normal to receive a business owner nomination.
The Sherborne’s is not just Quirky Loo of the Year. During the judging process, the facilities are graded. The largest category of awards is Platinum, achieved by 52.4% of entries, and the highest accolade is Diamond. It’s encouraging to see the number of recipients rising, from 3.5% last year to 5.8% this year. The Sherborne’s public toilets were among them, awarded the coveted Diamond grade.
Credit to the staff
For every excellent facility there is someone behind the scenes cleaning and maintaining the loos. Knowing these awards involve unannounced inspections means the bathrooms have to be in tip-top condition all the time. And that includes things like sufficient toilet paper in the cubicles (criteria 4.7) and ensuring urinals are chip and streak-free (criteria 3.1). The cleaning staff responsible for maintaining the loos deserve significant credit for adhering to such high standards of cleanliness.
Lizzie Watson, marketing manager at The Sherborne, said: ‘Maintaining the standard is the real work: consistent daily checks, strong routines and a team culture that treats visitor comfort as a priority. The scheme is inspected against detailed criteria, so it’s really about the ongoing commitment rather than a “one-off” push. This recognition is absolutely a testament to our facilities and cleaning team and the colleagues who check and maintain standards throughout the day. Their work is often behind the scenes, but it makes an enormous difference to every visitor’s experience – and yes, we’re incredibly proud of them!’
The Sherborne loo designers
So what makes a loo ‘quirky?’ According to the toilet experts, it’s recognising loos that bring something original, characterful and delightfully unexpected to the experience. The very special loos at The Sherborne stand out for the décor, especially the lavish wallpaper of exotic flowers and birds which was designed specially for The Sherborne by Adam Ellis Studio.
Lizzie said: ‘The inspiration was to bring a sense of character and surprise to an everyday moment, while still feeling true to the building – warm, welcoming, and full of charm.’
In another touch, the founders of The Sherborne, Sally and the late Michael Cannon, were strong advocates of good toilets – the kind that are clean, thoughtful, beautifully finished and dignified for every visitor. It’s a testament to them that Sherborne has such an inspirational space – with great loos.
The Loo of the Year judges were impressed by many of the loos they visited this year. Stuart Hands, Commercial Development Manager for Tork, said: ‘Congratulations to all the winners of the Loo of the Year Awards! It was fantastic to celebrate them all in Birmingham. We are incredibly proud to be the headline sponsors and support excellence in hygiene standards. The winners have truly set a high bar with their outstanding facilities.’
Next time you are in Sherborne, take a moment to spend a penny and admire the truly remarkable quirky bathrooms.
Other North Dorset loos with a story
The Bell Street public loos in Shaftesbury were refurbished in 2019 by Build Love, who offered on-the-job skills training to prisoners at Guys Marsh who were nearing the end of their sentences. The project was completed within budget and on time.
The new loo in St Andrew’s Church, Okeford Fitzpaine was installed as the final part of a re-ordering project that hit international headlines when pews were removed. Today the church space is busy, once again an integral part of the community used for multiple events – and thanks to the new facilities, there’s no longer a need to dash to the village hall.
