'The Major'

The public toilets on Ipswich’s Majors Corner have a giant guardian known as the Major.

Armed with a flyswatter, the army major, complete with a monocle, mustache, and medals, leans over the building upon which he is perched and aims at the pests below. Like a protector of public convenience, the Major guards toilet users from the giant steel fly that crawls across the restroom’s outer walls. 

The public art piece, by artist and sculptor Paul Richardson, was added to the site in 2005 and took inspiration from the street’s name. Rather than a military man, the major who gives their name to Majors Corner is Joshua Major, a wealthy 17th-century dyer from the town.