Now I went looking for the old baths on Collier Street recently prompted by a series of pictures taken by Andy Robertson.
Andy has done a fine job of recording them as they stand today, so I went off to search for the history of the baths.
I know that they were built on the site of the Salford Workhouse by the Manchester and Salford Baths & Laundries Company which built similar baths in Manchester.*
And that they were designed by Thomas Worthington who was also responsible for the Infirmary at the Chorlton Workhouse.
Some of the building has been demolished and what is left is a Grade 11 listed building.
Looking at photographs from two years ago and comparing those with some from February along with Andy’s it is hard to see what future it can have.
Now I am sure I may have missed a detailed piece of research on the place and likewise overlooked a plan to save it, all of which I hope will be pointed out to me, but in the meantime I would get down there before it has gone.
And once that has been done there is always the Eagle Inn which according to one source is a “hidden gem of a traditional back street boozer and commonly known to the locals as the Lamp Oil.
There are three small rooms off a central corridor with a central bar serving Holt Bitter.
There is a fine terracotta plaque of an eagle with the name above the door and for years this was the only pub sign.”**
Pictures; from the collection of Andy Robertson July 2014
*Greengate Baths, Collier Street, http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/leisure-sites/87442-greengate-baths-collier-street-salford-14-02-14-a.html
**What Pub?, http://whatpub.com/pubs/MAN/9899/eagle-inn-salford
Ian McKay’s Private View "Collier St Baths "Greengate , Salford Exhibition Invitation. Wed the 18th Dec6-7.30pm
ReplyDeletePress release
November 2019
Collier Street Baths art exhibition opens at Salford Museum and Art Gallery this December
This December, local artist Ian McKay brings a contemporary new exhibition based on the architecture of Collier Street Baths, to Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
Having worked in the Greengate area of Salford for many years as a display artist, Ian knew of the derelict former baths having walked past it many times fascinated by its Italianate architectural splendour.
Back in 2003, whilst continuing his visual arts practice at Cow Lane Studios, Salford, his interest in the abandoned gem of a building started to gain momentum and he visited the site several times, undertaking extensive local research, and he began to create pieces of art based on its architecture.
Ian completed a collection of drawings and colour studies on location at Collier Street focussing on the exterior of the building, which provided him with the resource material to complete a series of abstract paintings in 2004.
As an experienced, internationally-exhibiting artist, Ian has an ongoing interest in design and architecture in both Salford and Manchester, but it was not until he attended a gig at The Eagle Pub in 2018 that the building once again really spoke to him.
He was disillusioned that the site still remained derelict and wanted somehow to celebrate the fine architecture and design that had created such an important building in Salford and Manchester’s history.
The laundry, boiler house, and chimney have been demolished, the pool’s tiles have gone, and the building has no roof, yet McKay’s has found this abandoned gem a constant source of interest from its rare laminated roof trusses, crests and architecture features.
His mixed media collection of modern art works focuses on elements of the building’s exterior architecture reflecting its palette, beauty and splendour.
Pieces in the collection include snippets of typography, exterior highlights and images of both the women’s and men’s pools.
Ian McKay’s Collier Street Baths exhibition offers a visual celebration of Salford’s social history and heritage for all generations and Ian hopes that it will bring important memories alive for both cities.
Artist Ian McKay said: “Collier Street Baths to me is a crucial part of Salford and Manchester’s social history and I felt the building deserved to have its story told visually. Apart from the fact that Thomas Worthington designed the public building following a visit to Italy, the baths played a huge part in the health and wellbeing of people in both cities and gave people a lot of pleasure, so I wanted to create this same feeling with an exhibition that is a tribute to this fine building.”
No stranger to reaching out to his local communities, Ian runs Gorton Visual Arts at the Aviary Community Rooms for elderly residents, vulnerable adults and residents with learning difficulties, in a safe studio environment new skills and training are learnt and shared with all aspects of the community.
Ian’s belief is that art helps with social inclusion and cohesion and this is evident as he pays tribute to a once great building with a promising future through this new exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery that references the social history of the city.
Collier Street Baths runs from December 14th, 2019 until April 26th, 2020. There is an opening ‘meet the artist’ event on 18th December – to attend, please email- mac_art2002@yahoo.co.uk.
Salford Museum and Art Gallery operated by Salford Community Leisure, is free to visit and open six days a week (excluding Bank Holidays). Salford Museum and Art Gallery, The Crescent, Salford M5 4WU.
Hello Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI am writing on behalf of SAVE Britain's Heritage - we are in the process of updating our register and I've just come across your fantastic image of the building above. We would love to publish it alongside the written entry on the building on our website, if you would kindly give us your permission.
Many thanks,
Flora Loughridge
Thank you for asking, Flora, I have no problem, but could you credit the image to from the collection of Andy Robertson July 2014, and if there is space credit the blog please.
DeleteThank you Andrew, much appreciated. Of course, we will give a full and clear credit to the collection of Andy Robertson July 2014 (and the blog if possible too). Thanks, Flora
Delete