Latchmere Road Baths-Battersea 1899 opened by Little Ada
Latchmere Road Baths frontage along Latchmere Road – 1899. Taken from very old original newspaper cuttings.Public Libraries – Battersea District Library – Richard Shaw (1994)
Latchmere Road Baths – A grand old building
Latchmere Road Baths were opened in 1899. There was a spectacular opening event in 1889 featuring ‘Little Ada, the Wonderful Baby Swimmer’ and performances by Miss Ada Webb, world class champion diver and known as “Empress of the Sea” and “Queen of the Crystal Tank’. Please see an article featuring Miss Ada Webb on my post on…
…Scarborough Pools. Thank you to the anonymous contributor.
Men’s old Bath which became mixed bathing. Public Libraries – Battersea District Library – Richard Shaw (1994)
The buildings were utilitarian in character. A sober Queen Anne-style entrance block on Latchmere Road, of stock brick with red-brick dressings, featured twin pedimented gables at either end. The baths building contained three swimming baths with a full complement of slipper baths. The first class bath was 100’ x 35’ – wide and spacious with tiered seating. it was set out as an amphitheatre to admit many spectators; the second class bath was 97’ x 30’ – cubicled down each side and the boys bath was 75’ x 25’[…]
Read more…Fulham Baths. A granny lost her battle
There first and second class baths were boarded over during the winter months and used as a gymnasium and recreation room respectively. Boxing matches were also the order of the day.
Ladies Bath Public Libraries – Battersea District Library – Richard Shaw (1994)
Latchmere Ladies Baths had additional features in that the bottom of the pond had green glazed bricks formed into bands, panels and stars for ornamental purposes and which also formed guidelines when swimming competitions were held. Taken from an original newspaper cutting.
There were many alterations during the course of its life. The biggest was the removal of the iron gallery and south wall in the first-class bath to create deep amphitheatre seating under the roof of the former boys’ pool. Following war damage, the gables of the 1889 building were rebuilt without their mini- pediments and in the 1970s the men’s first-class slipper baths lost its Latchmere Road gable.
OUTCOME: The council decided to redevelop the whole of the Latchmere site in 1977. Due to much public outcry and vehement demonstrating, clearance was delayed until 1980, the historic Latchmere Bath being eventually demolished. They were replaced by a large indoor Leisure Complex. Nothing remains of the original baths.
Same aspect as original Baths.
I used to live opposite the latchmere road baths, and spent hours swimming there in the girls penny pool. The boys pool had swimming sessions called the penny bare bums , you didn’t need a costume. Definitely not allowed these days! I seem to remember a very warn pool in the basement that was some sort of therapeutic pool?
You used to leave your clothes in the cubical in the penny pool, but had a wire hanger thing to put your clothes on in the six penny pool, with a coloured wrist band. They called out your band colour to get you out of the pool when your time was up.
I learnt to swim in the Ladies Pool as a seven year old with my twin sister in 1971/2. It was with The Ducklings of Battersea Pegasus Swimming Club and the man that taught us was Mr Brown. We all stayed with the club in to our teens and competed for them all over London and out into Surrey and Kent. Great memories. I remember all the pools very well. The Ladies Pool was the shortest and the Boys’ Pool the coldest! Especially during the power cuts when it wasn’t heated! The galas were always held in the Mixed Pool. My dad used the baths which were to the right of reception and mum would drag me and my sister along to the massive public laundry at the back of the building. I was devastated when they knocked it all down to replace it with an inferior leisure centre without a proper swimming pool.
It was interesting to hear about the history of Latchmere Baths. As a primary school child at Belleville School in 1960s we used to go to the swimming pool for lessons. Seem to remember there were single changing rooms at the edge of the pool. But my mother remembers going to the Baths for an actual bath!! She said it was a real treat when she was young (pre 1940s).I’ve just spoken to my Auntie who is in her late 80s, she’s got a really great memory for her age, so thought you might like to know what memories she has of Latchmere Baths. Here’s what she said:
“There were 3 pools, one girls only, one mixed and one for the boys – which they used to call “Penny Bare Bums”!!. The boys could pay 1d and could go in without swimsuits, they gave you a rough towel, so providing the boys could scrounge a penny from somewhere they could go swimming but their mums would never know! Mixed swimming was next door which was 6d, and when the boys went into the shallow end you could see from the mixed that they were naked!! The girls only pool was 2d, and the entrance to the girls was round the corner from Latchmere Road.
There were also baths for you to have a hot bath, because not many people had baths at home. There was one set of baths the same side as the boys pool – for men and boys, and one set of baths next to the girls pool, for girls and women. All my family used to go down on Sunday morning for a bath because we didn’t have one in our flat. During the war they were supposed to only to give you 4 inches of water – there was a red painted line on the bath. But my mum used to give them a couple of extra coppers and they would fill it up!
I do hope you find this insight interesting. Kind regards, Marjie Forsyth.
Anne; What a lovely and amusing account of the baths. Thank you!