Category: Birmingham

Baths reopening put back AGAIN

We have received an update on the work currently being done at Moseley Road Baths from Cllr Martin Mullaney. His letter addressed to our group puts the new date for completing work to remove asbestos in the basement, environmentally clean the area and erect new scaffolding at the end of February 2012.

Work to remove the asbestos started on 17th October – we reported that asbestos had been found on 25th August.

There is, however, some possible good news as Birmingham City Council is planning to make a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a first phase of work to improve the building. This is likely to be structural work to maintain the building.

The Friends of Moseley Road Baths and local swimmers highlighted back at the start of the summer holidays on a ‘We Want to Swim’ demo that the extended closure of the building (it originally closed for ‘5 weeks’ in December 2010 and has to date been closed over 10 months) meant that local children were missing the opportunity to go swimming, or even learn to swim in the first place.  With neighbouring Sparkhill Baths permanently closed and other pools in the South of the city either busy or too far away, it’s really crucial that the building reopens as soon as is feasible.

We urge our supporters to keep in touch with local councillors and council officers to keep the pressure on – particularly with a local by-election coming up on 10th November and important local elections next May.

Pool of Memories Art Exhibition

Plans are now well underway for this year’s annual event as part of our ‘Pool of Memories’ project.  On Saturday 29th October, noon-4pm, Friends of Moseley Road Baths will be taking over the Moseley School of Art on Moseley Road (opp. the Baths) for the day to celebrate the Baths’ history and beauty through the medium of art!M&M 2011Today we have selected 12 local artists’ work to exhibit, encompassing a wide range of mediums, including photography, illustration, sculpture and portraiture.  All of the work has been inspired by the building itself, swimming, or water.  The ‘Pool of Memories’ exhibition will not only be the only opportunity to see all of these works together, it will also be a rare chance to see inside the former School of Art, itself Grade II* listed.

In addition we will be screening short films produced by local pupils as part of our Pool of Memories School project.  Pupils from Park Hill School, Anderton Park School, Clifton Junior School and Percy Shurmer School have filmed and conducted oral history interviews with people who remember swimming, working or washing at Moseley Road Baths.  We will be premiering the most recent films from pupils at Park Hill School on the day – filming only took place today!

Park Hill Pool of Memories

We shall also be welcoming Corinne Fowler to the event who will be reading an excerpt from her novel which features an account of a full immersion baptism in the swimming pool!

As usual there will be a selection of stories from our ever growing oral history archive on display as well as an opportunity to contribute to the archive with your own memories.  If you would like to share your stories on audio recorder or on film then please come along!

Don’t forget that our exhibition is wonderfully complemented by the Balsall Heath History Fair and Exhibition taking place next door at the Make It Zone!

The History of Moseley Road comes to life!

History Fair Exhibition

From 15th October until 5th November Moseley Road’s history will be brought to life as never before!  The Balsall Health Local History Society are exhibiting a selection of over 200 photos from the area, many of which have never been seen before.  In addition there will be dozens of artefacts, a mini school room and a slideshow and film showing the neighbourhood in years past.

The exhibition takes place at the ‘Make it Zone‘, formerly Butcher’s Print Works, located next door to the School of Art, opposite the Baths and Library.  The venue will be open Saturdays 11.00 – 16.00, Sunday 16th, 23rd, 11.00 – 16.00 Monday – Wednesday 12.00 – 16.00.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, head down to the Moseley Road (outside the Make It Zone) on Sunday 16th October at 11am and then again at 2:30pm as astonishing scenes will take place in Balsall Heath… a history trail along the Moseley Road will be dramatically interrupted by various scenes from the past including the escaped lion from the Sherbourne Road Zoo, the 1791 Church and King Riots, the 19th. Century Fire Brigade and its wandering horse… and much more!

The exhibition and Drama Trail are being supported by St Paul’s Community Development Trust, The Heritage Lottery Fund, MACE West Midlands, and the BBC Reel History campaign.  This compliments the Society’s excellent Digital Balsall Heath online archive project which we reported on back in August.

Don’t forget that on the 29th October you can indulge in a whole afternoon of history and locally produced artwork by also visiting our own Pool of Memories Exhibition between 12noon and 4pm next door in the School of Art.  We are accepting your artwork until the 17th October.

Talk Commemorates Re-opening of Historic Woodcock Street Swimming Baths

To mark the re-opening of Woodcock Sports Centre following a £5m refurbishment and renovation, the University of Aston is presenting an illustrated talk on Monday October 17th (6:30-7:30pm) about the centre’s 151-year history.

Woodcock Street

Owned and managed by the University since 1980, when it was purchased from Birmingham City Council for £1, the Grade II listed sports centre in Gosta Green is the home of Birmingham’s oldest surviving swimming pool, dating from 1902.

But Woodcock’s history can be traced back almost to the dawn of municipal swimming when, in the 1850s, Birmingham Town Council responded to a public petition calling for the construction of bathing and washing facilities in the town’s northern districts by erecting only the Birmingham’s second set of baths (the first having opened at Kent Street in 1851).

The talk – which is open to the general public and free of charge – will also cover the major rebuilds of 1902 and 1926, when the Gala Pool (now a sports hall) was erected, as well as looking at the 2011 upgrade. Also covered will be Woodcock Street Baths’ rôle as the city’s main municipal laundry, as well as it’s use for winter entertainments such as snooker and boxing tournaments and, perhaps most importantly, for swimming galas, both local, national and international.

The refurbishment and renovation has seen a number of original features restored as well as the creation of a new 120-station gym, new martial arts, fitness and dance studios and the refurbishment of both the swimming pool and sports hall.

Woodcock Street

The talk takes place in Room G11 of the main building, Aston Street (entrance via the main reception doors).

Deadline for artwork submissions extended

We’ve had a fantastic response to our appeal for artwork for this year’s Memories and Memorabilia Day; it’s really encouraging to see how much enthusiasm and talent there is out there!

As members of Friends of Moseley Road Baths who are curating the exhibition won’t get opportunity to get together and make a decision on which pieces to put in the exhibition until the 17th October we’re extending the deadline until then.  We will be making final decisions on exhibitors and contacting them on the 18th/19th October to make arrangements for the day.  In the meantime, thanks so much for your patience and we’ll be in touch soon!

Just as a reminder, if you have not already done so, to enter a piece we require:

  • An image or still of the work,
  • Size and dimensions,
  • Equipment needed for display or performance,
  • A brief statement about the work.

Baths reopening now scheduled for mid-Jan

Here is Cllr Mullaney’s latest update on work to the Baths, dated 29th September.

I attended a meeting this afternoon with the contractors who will shortly start working on re-opening Moseley Road baths. The good news is that we are still on target to re-open the swimming baths in mid-January 2012.

My last blog update was on 25th August and can be seen at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/08/update-on-moseley-road-baths-25th.html

The contractors will move onto site on 17th October and spend six weeks removing all asbestos from the basement. End date is 25th November.

From 25th November, work will begin on installing the permanent structural scaffolding in the basement which will replace heavily corroded temporary scaffolding which is holding up large sections of the floor plate of the building. This work will take six weeks to complete. Taking into account the Christmas break, we anticipate work finishes mid-January and the baths re-opening.

On top of this work, I have successfully bid for money from the Council’s corporate centre to do the following:

£50,000 to prepare a Heritage Lottery bid for just over £5million for phase one of the works to restore these baths.

£80,000 for ‘sticking plaster’ works to get the swimming baths through the next two years, in preparation for any restoration monies. The ‘sticking plaster’ works have still to be finalised, but we hope these will include minor roof repair works, installation of missing rainwater guttering and a boiler service.

Moseley Road Baths Art Exhibition – Call for submissions

The Friends of Moseley Road Baths are looking for artists to submit work for an exhibition of art inspired by Moseley Road Baths and swimming in Birmingham for this year’s Memories and Memorabilia Day.

This event is part of the Friends’ Heritage Lottery funded “Pool of Memories” oral history project and there is a possibility that work submitted will be included in the book and website being produced.

The exhibition will take place for one day only on Saturday 29th October 2011 at the former Moseley School of Art on Moseley Road, Birmingham.

Memories and Memorabilia Day 2011;Work can be in any medium although space availability and any equipment needed will be taken account during selection.

To submit work, please email to memories@friendsofmrb.co.uk the following:

  • An image or still of the work,
  • Size and dimensions,
  • Equipment needed for display or performance,
  • A brief statement about the work.

The closing date for entries is 7th October 2011.

Stirchley Baths photos

We went along to the opening day at Stirchley Baths on 3rd September 2011 – the last day that the building opened to the public before its conversion to a community centre later this year.  The event saw queues out the door and round the building – about 600 people donned hard hats and looked round the building over the course of the day.  Many people also had memories about swimming at Moseley Road Baths!

The baths have sadly been closed for swimming for 23 years; yet another pool that has fallen into a perilous state of disrepair and been ignored for decades. We felt a huge sadness going round what was once a vibrant and well used community facility.  Let’s hope that we never see Moseley Road Baths in such a desperate state.  I hope that these photos act as a catalyst to those within the Council who can decide Moseley Road Baths’ fate that we should never allow such a thing to happen here in Balsall Heath.

Birmingham’s Lido heritage

Amidst talk of cutbacks and closures it’s easy to forget some of the fantastic municipal facilities that Birmingham has run in much harder economic times than those we face today. A recent discussion stemming from a photo of the Cannon Hill Bathing Pool on the Digital Balsall Heath site got a few of us discussing the number of Lidos, open air swimming pools, there used to be in Brum. Wouldn’t it be lovely to take a dip outdoors in this landlocked city?

So, following on from that, Steve Beauchampé has dug out a list of lidos in and around Birmingham over the years. Please let us know if you remember any of these!

Open Air Pools and Lidos in Birmingham and District

  • Brookvale Park, Park Road, Erdington (7th October 1909-1926)
  • Bournville Lido, Oak Farm Road, Bournville (2nd July 1937-c1972 demolished c1976; 1977-1987, demolished 1997) now housing
  • Bournville Men’s Open Baths, Linden Road (1898-c1936/7) now the Settling Pool
  • Cannon Hill Park Bathing Pool (1st September 1873; reconstructed 15th June 1921-1938)
  • Dartmouth Park, Devonshire Drive, West Bromwich (1887-)
  • Keeper’s Pool Lido, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield (June 30th 1887-1933; 1933-1961; 1961-March 2002) closed and demolished after fire, site now landscaped
  • Greswolde Lido/Pool – behind The Greswolde Hotel/Restaurant, High Street, Knowle, Solihull – now flats, (13th June 1936-cAug 1965)
  • Malvern Hall (or Park) Lido, Malvern Park, Solihull, opened (c1944-c September 1982) now overgrown/derelict
  • Shirley Sports Lido and Swimming Pool, Sansome Road, Shirley; (6th June 1936-1939) now offices
  • Small Heath Park Lido, Small Heath Park (aka Victoria Park) (9th July 1883; reconstructed 14th June 1922-1938)
  • Stechford Lido, Station Road, Stechford (August 1964-1991) now Cascades leisure pool (covered)
  • West Heath Lido (The Bath Tub), Aldridge Road, West Heath (1st July 1937-1940)

A history of ‘Bournville Lane Baths’

As Stirchley Baths prepares to open its doors one last time before the building’s conversion into a community centre, local historian and member of Friends of Moseley Road Baths Steve Beauchampé looks back at the Baths’ history.

Saturday, September 3rd affords what is expected to be the last opportunity for the public to see inside the 100-year old Bournville Lane Baths. Located on the corner of Bournville Lane and Hazelwood Road in Stirchley, work is expected to commence early in 2012 to convert the building into a community centre as part of a financial deal linked to the development of a new Tesco store in Stirchley. The Baths, which closed on March 1st 1988 and which have lain derelict for several years, slowly ravaged by the weather and wildlife, will be open between 11:00am-3:00pm.

Stirchley Baths front

Designed by architect John P. Osborne, Stirchley Baths (as they were originally called) cost approximately £10,000 and were built by E. Crowder of Farm Street, Birmingham on land gifted to the Kings Norton and Northfield Urban District Council by Cadbury Brothers Ltd. At 4pm on July 19th 1910 William Cadbury laid the Foundation Stone and the following July George Cadbury Junior formally opened the building, which is now listed Grade II.

Stirchley Baths changing

Along with Aston and Handsworth, on November 9th 1911 Kings Norton was annexed as part of the Birmingham Extension Order. From this date the facility was known as Bournville Lane Baths. There was a single swimming pool (75ft x 30ft) with spectator gallery, demountable dressing cubicles, 20 private washing (or ‘slipper’) baths for men and women and a small steam (or Vapour) bath, capable of holding six people. There was also a small laundry.

With its distinctive curved single-storey frontage, Bournville Lane Baths was the first of the city’s baths to be connected to the mains water supply and were fitted with a modern circulation and filtration system supplied by Riley’s of Irlam. Located just a few hundred yards from the impressive – and also long decommissioned – Girls’ Baths at Cadburys’, the facility was developed in conjunction with the adjacent public library, while a Friend’s Meeting Hall sits directly behind.

As part of Saturday’s open day members of the public will be invited to become a ‘Friend of Stirchley Baths’, a new group dedicated to ensuring, ‘that the building serves the people of Stirchley for the next 100 years’.