Showing posts with label LCC Municipal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LCC Municipal. Show all posts

Thursday, July 01, 2021

Romford Road (Atherton) Swimming Baths 1934

 

Hat tip for this wonderful collage to LCC Municipal https://twitter.com/lccmunicipal/status/1410575532434104323 (&@LondonNurse2015 for drawing it to my attention) . A souvenir brochure on the opening of the baths in 1934.

It has now been knocked down and rebuilt as a leisure centre (with a pool) but I remember swimming in the old baths (freezing cold when the boilers broke down). The drinks machine hot chocolate was pretty horrible but was warm and sweet. 

Apparently it cost £147,000 to build in 1934 and some of the money came from the government in order to give the unemployed work. 

During the 2nd world war it was used as a morgue for victims of the Bliz. 

The baths were very similar to those in my home town of Buckley in NE Wales which was paid for by a one penny levy on each ton of coal mined locally.