Birmingham Baths Committee

The movement to develop baths and wash houses in Britain had its impetus with the rapid urbanisation of the Industrial Revolution, which was felt acutely in Birmingham, one of England's powerhouses.

[1] A major proprietor of bath houses in Birmingham was a Mr. Monro who had had premises in Lady Well and Snow Hill.

[2] Private baths were advertised as having healing qualities and being able to cure people of diabetes, gout and all skin diseases, amongst others.

[2] On 19 November 1844, it was decided that the working class members of society should have the opportunity to access baths, in an attempt to address the health problems of the public.

After a period of campaigning by many committees, the Public Baths and Wash-houses Act received royal assent on 26 August 1846.

The Act empowered local authorities to incur expenditure in constructing public swimming baths out of its own funds.

In 1930, the main buildings, with the exception of the women's bath on Gooch Street, were demolished[3] and new facilities were built in a more modern style.

[8] Designed by Hurley Robinson,[5] it was of art deco architecture and remains today as Kent House.

In September 2009, after lying empty for years, the baths were demolished by Benacre Property, the landowner, provoking a local outcry.

[9] Despite being Grade B locally listed, Birmingham City Council were unable to save the building and the site has now become a surface car park.

The baths closed in 1947 as a result of being destroyed beyond repair by air raids in World War II.

Providing baths for the northwest of the town had been an issue since 1867, however, action did not begin until 1877 when a site at Monument Road was acquired by the committee.

A proposal was put forward by the two committees for the site at Green Lane, Small Heath for the erection of baths and a library.

After the end of the war, the council granted permission for the reconstruction and reparations of the baths and work commenced in 1951.

The approval for the construction of baths at Moseley Road came about through the discussions for the inclusion of Balsall Heath into Birmingham.

The order for the inclusion of the area into Birmingham came into effect on 1 October 1891 and the committee were soon told to find a suitable location to construct baths.

[11] Following the Greater Birmingham Scheme, the committee decided to immediately enquire into constructing baths in the area of Kings Heath.

Harborne acted after hearing about the residents of Kings Heath and in 1911, the committee also bought a plot of land in Lordswood Road.

The building now carries a blue plaque, noting that the poet W. H. Auden lived in an adjacent house from 1919–39.

The district pressed for a reconsideration in February 1927 and the committee decided to place focus upon the baths that were to be built on the site.

They purchased land on the busy Stratford Road with the intention of building the most modern set of baths possible.

Members of the committee were sent to towns to observe the latest types of baths built and were also sent to Germany to obtain information.

The baths were closed in 2016 and the handsome Art Deco building demolished in 2017 and replaced by a new swimming and gym facility which opened in 2018.

Located on Warren Farm Road, the baths opened on 31 March 1938 and were the last to be constructed before the outbreak of World War II.

Bournville Lane Baths were unusual in that they featured an aeration and filtration system for the water which was extracted from a mains supply.

Several other baths had suffer light damage from bombing raids and needed repair work.

In 1905, a member of the Health Committee published a report which strongly recommended the construction of cottage baths.

The first attempt by the committee was made in 1902 with the proposed conversion of the George Arthur Road police station into cottage baths.

Open air pools were popular amongst the residents of Birmingham during the summer months as a place to cool down in the warm weather.

Open air pools were both a commercial problem as they only received money in warm weather, and they were also a risk to the health of the users.