Hello all. Happy new year and all that turd.
Iv marked this as a "permission visit" as strictly speaking it was, i was just aloud a slightly longer rein thanks to a contact who was doing a group tour . I just kept disappearing and reappearing .
If friends of moseley baths do another of their guided tours i highly recommend going , aside from the spectacular building its self , the people doing the tours are really clued up and informative .
One thing iv noticed on 28dl , the reports on this building seem to concentrate on the gala pool, but theres so much more to see , the orig water tank, the drying racks, the "slipper" baths complete with "noose" hanging above to aid in getting out of the bath. Its all still there and in amazing condition considering the age of the place. I have plans to go back here at some point to look behind all those locked doors i encountered, all being well before its closed completely and gets destroyed by plebs.
2 bits of info provided on the day, (excuse the photo bomb)
A quick plug for the nice people of friends of moseley baths.
SAVE OUR BATHS!
Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath, Birmingham is a well loved and used Edwardian Swimming Pool of huge historical and architectural significance. Pool 2 is used all week round by the whole community, whilst the Gala Pool has been closed since August 2003.
Birmingham City Council plan to close the building for swimming in Summer 2017, upon the reopening of Sparkhill Baths.
They have refused to submit a Heritage Lottery Fund application which would keep the pool open and allow other spaces within the building to be opened up for the whole community to access.
Condemning the building in this way is bad news for swimmers, especially for schools who are required to provide lessons for pupils. It is a disaster for the local community who are concerned about a derelict building standing in the heart of their community. It is short sighted in an area with some of the worst statistics for childhood obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
To get involved in the campaign contact us at [email protected] and keep and eye on the ‘campaign’ page and blog of this site. You can also sign up for our regular newsletter to have all news and events sent straight to your inbox. http://www.friendsofmrb.co.uk/
Ill add a few of my own pics to this history ( lifted from here : http://www.moseleyroadbaths.co.uk/#moseley-road )
Moseley Road Baths opened on October 30th 1907 at a cost of £32,924. It is the oldest of only three Grade II* Listed swimming baths currently operating in Britain (those at the privately-owned RAC Club in London and The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace being the other two). Moseley Road is a window on a lifestyle that was common to millions of Britons at the turn of the 19th century.
Unquestionably one of Birmingham's finest and most treasured buildings, Moseley Road Baths contains several rare or unique features, including:
One of the ropes and pull chains.
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One side of the measuring device
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The other side
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Despite this, and Moseley Road Bath's undoubted popularity with swimmers of all ages, the building has suffered from acute neglect over a sustained period of time to the extent that in 2007 it featured on the Victorian Society's list of the ten most endangered buildings in Britain. Currently, only the smaller pool is operational, the Gala Pool and 'slipper' baths having closed for safety reasons in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
Its future is now very much in doubt with calls to transfer ownership from local authority control and convert the building, or at least large parts of it, to uses unconnected with swimming or fitness. The option of a replacement baths in the Balsall Heath district seems unrealistic, for reasons of both finance and a shortage of available land. Yet Moseley Road Baths is a large building, with much unused and vacant space that has the potential to be converted to uses complimentary to the primary purpose of swimming.
Heres a few more random pics of this great building, i hope it stays open and in use, its defiantly one of the better buildings in brum. Itll be a shame to see it disapear the way so many others have.
Wander if theres a ladder inside, access door to that chimney is one of those locked doors i spoke about earlier ;-)
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The boiler room, the room off to the right of this has the orig well inside, its covered over now but its still there.
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Nice one for taking the time to look, and click the friends of moseley baths link, show your support :-)
See ya............
Iv marked this as a "permission visit" as strictly speaking it was, i was just aloud a slightly longer rein thanks to a contact who was doing a group tour . I just kept disappearing and reappearing .
If friends of moseley baths do another of their guided tours i highly recommend going , aside from the spectacular building its self , the people doing the tours are really clued up and informative .
One thing iv noticed on 28dl , the reports on this building seem to concentrate on the gala pool, but theres so much more to see , the orig water tank, the drying racks, the "slipper" baths complete with "noose" hanging above to aid in getting out of the bath. Its all still there and in amazing condition considering the age of the place. I have plans to go back here at some point to look behind all those locked doors i encountered, all being well before its closed completely and gets destroyed by plebs.
2 bits of info provided on the day, (excuse the photo bomb)
A quick plug for the nice people of friends of moseley baths.
SAVE OUR BATHS!
Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath, Birmingham is a well loved and used Edwardian Swimming Pool of huge historical and architectural significance. Pool 2 is used all week round by the whole community, whilst the Gala Pool has been closed since August 2003.
Birmingham City Council plan to close the building for swimming in Summer 2017, upon the reopening of Sparkhill Baths.
They have refused to submit a Heritage Lottery Fund application which would keep the pool open and allow other spaces within the building to be opened up for the whole community to access.
Condemning the building in this way is bad news for swimmers, especially for schools who are required to provide lessons for pupils. It is a disaster for the local community who are concerned about a derelict building standing in the heart of their community. It is short sighted in an area with some of the worst statistics for childhood obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
To get involved in the campaign contact us at [email protected] and keep and eye on the ‘campaign’ page and blog of this site. You can also sign up for our regular newsletter to have all news and events sent straight to your inbox. http://www.friendsofmrb.co.uk/
Ill add a few of my own pics to this history ( lifted from here : http://www.moseleyroadbaths.co.uk/#moseley-road )
Moseley Road Baths opened on October 30th 1907 at a cost of £32,924. It is the oldest of only three Grade II* Listed swimming baths currently operating in Britain (those at the privately-owned RAC Club in London and The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace being the other two). Moseley Road is a window on a lifestyle that was common to millions of Britons at the turn of the 19th century.
Unquestionably one of Birmingham's finest and most treasured buildings, Moseley Road Baths contains several rare or unique features, including:
- The only complete set of pre-war private washing, or 'slipper' baths extant in Britain (46 in total), still with the original oak ticket office and attendants' kiosks largely intact.
One of the ropes and pull chains.
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- A three-sided spectator gallery and unique balconettes in the Gala (or First Class) Pool as well as the original poolside arched glazed brick dressing boxes.
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- A 98ft long Gothic renaissance red brick and terracotta frontage, lavishly embellished and decorated.
- Possibly the only surviving steam-heated drying racks in a British swimming baths, sited in the First Floor laundry room.
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- The original 45,000-gallon capacity cast iron cold water storage tank.
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One side of the measuring device
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The other side
16>
Despite this, and Moseley Road Bath's undoubted popularity with swimmers of all ages, the building has suffered from acute neglect over a sustained period of time to the extent that in 2007 it featured on the Victorian Society's list of the ten most endangered buildings in Britain. Currently, only the smaller pool is operational, the Gala Pool and 'slipper' baths having closed for safety reasons in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
Its future is now very much in doubt with calls to transfer ownership from local authority control and convert the building, or at least large parts of it, to uses unconnected with swimming or fitness. The option of a replacement baths in the Balsall Heath district seems unrealistic, for reasons of both finance and a shortage of available land. Yet Moseley Road Baths is a large building, with much unused and vacant space that has the potential to be converted to uses complimentary to the primary purpose of swimming.
Heres a few more random pics of this great building, i hope it stays open and in use, its defiantly one of the better buildings in brum. Itll be a shame to see it disapear the way so many others have.
Wander if theres a ladder inside, access door to that chimney is one of those locked doors i spoke about earlier ;-)
17>
The boiler room, the room off to the right of this has the orig well inside, its covered over now but its still there.
18>
19>
20>
Nice one for taking the time to look, and click the friends of moseley baths link, show your support :-)
See ya............
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