It is one of those simple things that so often you don’t see what is just in front of your eyes, and this pretty much is all I can say about the old Corporation baths in Henry Square.
I must have passed them countless times but never gave them a second glance, and to be honest to my abiding shame knew nothing of their history or their closure in 1975 and it has taken this painting by Peter Topping and a fair bit of coverage in local social media sites to alert me to their story.
According to that excellent site Ashton-Under-Lyne.com, “they were opened in 1870 at a cost of £16,000.
It was one of the first and largest municipal swimming baths.
The building, designed by Henry Paul and George Robinson, is constructed almost entirely of brick, with some stone decoration. It was built in a Byzantine style and has a 120 feet high tower which housed the flues from the steam boilers and heaters.
Sixty per cent of the building was occupied by the main Swimming Bath.
The pool was 100 feet long and 40 feet wide and was originally used mainly by male bathers, with a three hour period on Thursdays for ladies.
In the eastern section of the building was a smaller pool, 27 feet long and 15 feet wide, for the use of female bathers.
During the winter months, when the main bath was closed, the smaller pool was used by men and women at different times.
There were also private bathrooms and Turkish baths. Part of the building was used as a police station and a station for one fire engine.
When the baths were built, the pools did not have a water filtration system, but were refilled weekly, making use of the water supply from the newly-opened Swineshaw Reservoir.
The water was replaced on Tuesdays. The charge for swimming was six pence on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but only two pence from Friday to Monday, when the water was somewhat dirtier!
A water filtration plant was eventually installed in 1915.”*
And that is all I am going to quote, because in line with my often rehearsed line on these things if someone else has done the research and written up the story to them goes all the credit and so if you want more you must visit Ashton-Under-Lyne.com
Painting; Corporation Baths, © 2014 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
*Ashton-Under-Lyne.com,
http://www.ashton-under-lyne.com/history/baths.h
According to that excellent site Ashton-Under-Lyne.com, “they were opened in 1870 at a cost of £16,000.
It was one of the first and largest municipal swimming baths.
The building, designed by Henry Paul and George Robinson, is constructed almost entirely of brick, with some stone decoration. It was built in a Byzantine style and has a 120 feet high tower which housed the flues from the steam boilers and heaters.
Sixty per cent of the building was occupied by the main Swimming Bath.
The pool was 100 feet long and 40 feet wide and was originally used mainly by male bathers, with a three hour period on Thursdays for ladies.
In the eastern section of the building was a smaller pool, 27 feet long and 15 feet wide, for the use of female bathers.
During the winter months, when the main bath was closed, the smaller pool was used by men and women at different times.
There were also private bathrooms and Turkish baths. Part of the building was used as a police station and a station for one fire engine.
When the baths were built, the pools did not have a water filtration system, but were refilled weekly, making use of the water supply from the newly-opened Swineshaw Reservoir.
A water filtration plant was eventually installed in 1915.”*
And that is all I am going to quote, because in line with my often rehearsed line on these things if someone else has done the research and written up the story to them goes all the credit and so if you want more you must visit Ashton-Under-Lyne.com
Painting; Corporation Baths, © 2014 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
*Ashton-Under-Lyne.com,
http://www.ashton-under-lyne.com/history/baths.h
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