Report - Lynemouth Colliery Bathouse - July 2013

[raisinwing]

Visited with JasperB

Pithead baths (including offices and canteen, now medical wing). 1938 by F.G. Frizzell. Pebbledashed over white brick. Roofs part concrete slab, part glazed (over baths section) behind parapet. Irregular plan, Modern Movement style. Group of blocks of varying height round tall central tower with rounded, glazed stair turret. Walls mainly sheer, with plinth and slight roof projection. Long block on east of tower (ingoing locker room) has central south projection with glazed, banded steel double door under high strip of windows beneath eaves overhang. Taller storeroom to west has similar doors in 2 recessed banded glazed bays; and abuts on south-east corner of tower. Similar double doors in base of tower. Large lower south-western canteen wing abuts on west side of tower and has banded glazing around two sides above a projecting sill. Slightly-projecting 3-bay office section to north has steel cross casements; on its return another casement and a door with hollow-chamfered jambs and flat hood. Taller bath block behind. Wave pattern on rainwater heads.

A nice little explore that we only realised existed because we saw it mentioned at the nearby Woodhorn mining museum (which is brilliant and also free if you're near by!). It's a shame that it's suffered a lot since previous reports, all the lockers now gone and most of the partitions smashed. It's still worth a look but definitely a shadow of what it was.

Thanks for looking