Visit with OT. The Princess Royal colliery closed in the 1980's, and since then the baths have been used by what looks like an antique restorer. With the knowledge the building had been put to other uses after the colliery closed, I did not have high hopes for the baths. Imagine our dismay when we pulled up and it was under demolition!!
We asked the demo blokes if we could go in, and they said ask at the cabina cross the road. We asked at the cabin and they said ask the demo blokes
:. Well OT seemeed as if he did not know what to do next, but I was one step ahead... no one had actually told us no!!
So we walked onto the site, slipped the unlocked padlock off the door and dived inside! I was amazed to see much of the NCB fixtures and fittings remained, including the typical staircase, boot greasing room and even signs of the baths. The whole place was filled with broken and rusty antiques, left from the last occupants.
I should mention they were actually demolishing the building while we were inside, and every now and then we would hear a 'larger' lump of the place hit the roof above us
The fact this bathhouse is being demolished is very disappointing. It was on the 20th C society's list (as if that ever does any good) but it's another increasingly rare building lost. Annesley's survival is becoming more and more inportant. 4 have been demolished this year!!
To see this was great. Original signage. Signs of this style are typical of a bathhouse from this age, but are very rare.
Most bath houses have these huge windows running down the staircase.
Workwear issue hatch
The small ovals that can be seen are where the bath partitions fixed to the wall.
We asked the demo blokes if we could go in, and they said ask at the cabina cross the road. We asked at the cabin and they said ask the demo blokes
:. Well OT seemeed as if he did not know what to do next, but I was one step ahead... no one had actually told us no!!So we walked onto the site, slipped the unlocked padlock off the door and dived inside! I was amazed to see much of the NCB fixtures and fittings remained, including the typical staircase, boot greasing room and even signs of the baths. The whole place was filled with broken and rusty antiques, left from the last occupants.
I should mention they were actually demolishing the building while we were inside, and every now and then we would hear a 'larger' lump of the place hit the roof above us
The fact this bathhouse is being demolished is very disappointing. It was on the 20th C society's list (as if that ever does any good) but it's another increasingly rare building lost. Annesley's survival is becoming more and more inportant. 4 have been demolished this year!!
To see this was great. Original signage. Signs of this style are typical of a bathhouse from this age, but are very rare.
Most bath houses have these huge windows running down the staircase.
Workwear issue hatch
The small ovals that can be seen are where the bath partitions fixed to the wall.
