Sunday 16 May 2010

The Corporation Baths - Belper Street

The Corporation Baths or as they were better known to most Blackburn folks, Belper Street Baths.
Like tens of thousands of other kids throughout the 20th century, this is where I learned to swim. Just up the road from St Albans school, it was walking distance for all us good little catholic kids and walk we did, a long, snaking line of us in pairs, all the way there and all the way back.
Not certain and I'll have to check, but I think part of that 1905 facade is still there to this day.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COMMUNITY STUDIES DEPT. BLACKBURN LIBRARY.
Update - March 7th 2011  - Lorcan Moriarty has been and had a look at this building, to see how it has changed since the days of the above photograph. Lorcan thinks (as I do) that the 'Corporation Baths 1905' is probably still there, under the modern cladding, but sadly it looks like the central coat of arms has gone. Below are two photos from Lorcan. One shows the frontage in its present state and in the other he has merged the old and the new, to demonstrate how it could look again, if the corrugated metal was removed to reveal the old name (less the coat of arms). 
MODERN & MERGED PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF LORCAN MORIARTY


12 comments:

  1. I think you're right Colin about part of the 1905 Facade still being there, but it's been years since I was last there.This is where I learned to swim in 1960. The bloke who taught us was called Fred Shorrock, a nice bloke, but when we were doing our Length he always held the Pole, which you were supposed to be able to get hold of if you were struggling, about a foot away from us so you had little or no chance of grabbing it !
    It also had "Slipper Baths" which in those days were the only way to have a proper bath for a lot of folk. I was lucky in that respect, as we had a Zinc Bath hung on a nail in the back yard which was brought in every Sunday night for me to use (One Bath a week Eh !!)
    I still remember the side of it nearest to the coal fire being too hot to hold onto when I climed into it.
    Thank God for Showers today !!

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  2. Belper Street baths opened in 1906 & have been refurbish three times during its history. An extension was built in about 1960 and the chaging cubicles were moved in there from around the pool. In 1982/3 a false ceiling was added over the pool & finally around 1997 the pool was remodelled as a 25 metre pool (instead of the original 22 yards) and a learners pool was added on the left hand side as you walk down the corridor from the front to the changing rooms.

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  3. Thanks for the info. I only ever went there when I was at school (or of school age, as we went in our own time too), which would have been no earlier than 1966 and no later than 1972. Never been back there since then.

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  4. I've had a quick scan on Google Earth, but I can't seem to find any signs of the facade...can anyone put me right?

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  5. I'm not too familiar with Google Earth, only used it once. I find it a bit frustrating trying to get it to go in the directions I want it to. I haven't been down Daisyfield way for quite a while, but I'm pretty sure some of the front still remains.

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  6. Why would you want to go round there now, another part of Blackburn ruined!

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  7. I think my grandma used to be a swimming teacher in the 60s/70s at Belper Street, until an accident at the baths forced her to stop (a kid jumped off the top diving board in 1976 onto her and broke her neck). She said after her accident all the pools in Blackburn had diving boards removed.

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  8. Heck Laura, that sounds bad.

    Regards.

    Colin

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  9. She's fine, she pulled through despite being told she'd never walk again. Still struggles but she's walking and she's 72 now! And it wasn't Belper Street baths that it happened sorry, it was Blakey Moor baths - she taught at both!

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  10. sorry it was Blakey Moor baths that the accident happened at - she taught at both so I got confused! She's fine now - well, she's walking, which they told her at the time she'd never do again! She's now 72! By the way, I love your site! I'm fascinated by history, and seeing old photos of places I'm familiar with is great! Can't believe how much Blackburn has changed. I think it looked better before!

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  11. In the 70s during summer holidays me and my friend used to love going to Belper baths I remember the colour wrist bands you had to wear to gauge the time you could spend in the pool if the baths got very busy, oh and also the pool side cafeteria serving tea with cakes snacks and sweets which were always a treat after a chlorine clean swim in in the pool.

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