sylviasayers
master brummie
Not sure if this is the right place, but The Nechells Regeneration Project is competing for Best Heritage Project. To register your vote log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards. This is for a £2,000.00 grant.
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Nechells Baths
- Thread starter sylviasayers
- Start date
hi all...i wonder if any members used these public baths and went swimming there...after visiting our dad earlier i popped in and saw the person in charge who has very kindly agreed to me going back next monday to be given a tour and take some photos..its amazing from the bits i saw today..all the cubicles are still there and many original features ie all the tiling and even the shelf where the hairdryer was so that the girls could dry their hair also the benches used to sit on for looking down at the swimmers..the swimming pool has not been filled in as i thought although it is locked to the public but will be opened for me on monday. and you can still climb down the steps into it. (minus the water of course ).what has happened is a false ceiling was erected above it to accomodate the new nursery rooms and offices..really looking forward to next monday and i hope that the pics i come back with will stir some memories for some of you. not sure if pics of the inside of the baths are one the forum already i cant see any but it will still be nice to have a look around....
lyn.
lyn.
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hi marie from the little bit i saw today it as as its always been more or less...i would love to work in there its got a great feeling and atmosphere to it....will post the pics as soon as i get back on monday...with a bit of luck i may be able to get into one of those towers....
lyn
lyn
I used to go to this baths with the school. I remember the hairdryers that were fixed to the wall, green with a hose arm to dry your hair. An absolute must for us girls in the 60s. If the teacher thought we'd be late back to school you had to let your hair dry naturally. Then you looked like you'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. We used to have a school bus to take us there which is a bit odd now I think about it as the school was in Erdington but we always went to Nechells Baths rather than Erdington. We used to take our Trampete, a little trampoline, for practising diving from the side. And also those black bricks that you had to dive down to in the deep end to recover. Don't remember any diving boards there, but I could be wrong. Looking forward to the picS Lyn.
Here's a bit of background history from Wikipedia. Viv.
"Nechells Baths on Nechells Park Road is a Grade II listed building. Plans for baths to be constructed in the Nechells ward came about in 1900 when representatives from the ward pressured the council into providing public baths for the ward. However, the Birmingham Baths Committee were already committed to other projects in the city and were unable to immediately attend the matter.
In 1903, a site at the corner of Nechells Park Road and Aston Church Road was acquired and in 1908, approval was given for the construction of baths on the site. Construction commenced that year and the baths were opened June 22, 1910. Facilities provided included a large swimming bath with a spectators' gallery and suites of private baths for men and women. The baths were immediately popular among the locals.
Refurbishment work to the baths was completed in May 2007 by Welconstruct. It cost £5.5 million, with funding from Advantage West Midlands, the Heritage Lottery Fund and ERDF".
Here's a bit of background history from Wikipedia. Viv.
"Nechells Baths on Nechells Park Road is a Grade II listed building. Plans for baths to be constructed in the Nechells ward came about in 1900 when representatives from the ward pressured the council into providing public baths for the ward. However, the Birmingham Baths Committee were already committed to other projects in the city and were unable to immediately attend the matter.
In 1903, a site at the corner of Nechells Park Road and Aston Church Road was acquired and in 1908, approval was given for the construction of baths on the site. Construction commenced that year and the baths were opened June 22, 1910. Facilities provided included a large swimming bath with a spectators' gallery and suites of private baths for men and women. The baths were immediately popular among the locals.
Refurbishment work to the baths was completed in May 2007 by Welconstruct. It cost £5.5 million, with funding from Advantage West Midlands, the Heritage Lottery Fund and ERDF".
thanks for that info viv...there is even one of the private baths on show...cast iron by the looks of it...and each cubicle still has the wooden seats in and the hooks to hang your clothes on...not sure if i will be allowed into what used to be the living quarters but i shall be happy to go where i am allowed...
lyn
marie..im due there at about 2 ish so if i hang about outside the front and hear a car toot me i shall wave to you..
lyn
I also remember you used to swim a certain number of lengths and then you were given a pink card which allowed you to go swimming, I think, for free. If memory serves, you had to take the 'test' every so often to get your swimming pass. All courtesy Birmingham Corporation. Still have a pass somewhere, must look it out. Viv.
john knight
signman
Hello Lyn,
I used to go there at least 3 times a week,horrible navy blue one sided trunks that tied at one side, and at the opposite end of the pool to the diving board was a small area where you had to scrub your feet before entering the pool,those long handled srubbing brushes were more like a wire brush.
I used to go there at least 3 times a week,horrible navy blue one sided trunks that tied at one side, and at the opposite end of the pool to the diving board was a small area where you had to scrub your feet before entering the pool,those long handled srubbing brushes were more like a wire brush.
morning john...the mind boggles lol...also noticed yesterday that the non slip walkways are still there...have to say that i am impressed at the preservation of this building..wonder if any of those scrubbing brushes are still hanging around..if so i will post a pic for you lol.
lyn
lyn
el-stano
Ex-lurker
Hi,
Lyn I'm really looking forward to seeing your pics. We used to go to Nechells baths on a Sunday morning, trying to be first in the water. I think they opened at 8 am, but it could have been 7. This would have been around 1960. We used to cycle from Foley Road (Ward End) through Washwood Heath and along Aston Church Road. It was freezing sometimes in the winter. However, the water was the warmest out of all the baths I used - Woodcock Street, Saltley, Stechford (in later years) -in order of coldness. I seem to remember you could lock your bike up in a yard perhaps belonging to the boilers? Was it at Nechells where you could get a cup of Bovril afterwards?
This has brought back some great (if rather vague!) memories.
Stan
Lyn I'm really looking forward to seeing your pics. We used to go to Nechells baths on a Sunday morning, trying to be first in the water. I think they opened at 8 am, but it could have been 7. This would have been around 1960. We used to cycle from Foley Road (Ward End) through Washwood Heath and along Aston Church Road. It was freezing sometimes in the winter. However, the water was the warmest out of all the baths I used - Woodcock Street, Saltley, Stechford (in later years) -in order of coldness. I seem to remember you could lock your bike up in a yard perhaps belonging to the boilers? Was it at Nechells where you could get a cup of Bovril afterwards?
This has brought back some great (if rather vague!) memories.
Stan
hi elstano im so glad some of you went to these baths and have such memories of going there...ive walked past it many times when visiting our dad and kept meaning to go in and ask if i could look round...hoping to get lots of nice pics for you on monday..
lyn
lyn
I'll have a look for that pass Lyn. Should explain that the passes were, I think, available to kids across Brum if they swam the distance, not just Nechells Baths. I'm amazed (and very pleased) that the Nechells Baths is now Grade II listed. I've a slight apprehension about the extra floor that's been installed into the Baths, but I'll wait to see your photos before getting too excited about that !! I seem to remember being told the pool used to be covered over for dances too, but that was well before my time. Viv.
hi viv...i didnt stay that long as it was their busy time but from what i can gather there was a false ceiling erected above the swimming pool...im just pleased that as far as i can gather it has not been filled in an covered up..what a bonus...on monday i wont have to rush so can get the full story and pics but as i said before there is a definate atmosphere to the building...hope you can find that pass as it will go well on this thread viv...
lyn
lyn
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hi folks...slight disapointment..the man who was to take me down to the swimming pool could not be in today..good news is i have arranged to go back next week to take those pics....anyhow i was made to feel really welcome today and many thanks to ann who showed me around...hope these pics will bring back memories for those of you who used these baths...
girls entrance and where they paid at the little kiosk...
girls entrance and where they paid at the little kiosk...
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