History.
The suggestion of building a pool was first put to the Health and Sanitary Committee of Haslingden Borough Council in November 1908.
Nearly ten years later, the Young Men’s Class of the Ebenezer Baptist Church’s Sunday School made an emphatic plea to the council to build a public baths to celebrate and commemorate the end of the First World War.
Talks continued for the next decade, but no real progress was made until 1932, when Mayor W.H. Baxter said in his inaugural speech that he hoped the swimming pool scheme would soon “engage the serious attention of the council.”
A sub-committee was formed the following year, and building was completed three years later.
Haslingden Baths was officially opened on August 22, 1936, when Mayor William Thacker unlocked the front door with a special commemorative key.
The Mayoress then cut a ribbon at the inner entrance of the baths, before guests went in to view the facilities.
At the poolside, the Mayor declared Haslingden Baths open to the public, and a commemorative plaque was unveiled.
The ceremony was followed by tea at the former Central Council School, now Haslingden Primary School, with a swimming gala held in the evening.
At the time, the new facilities were state-of-the-art. The programme from the opening boasts of a modern filtration system at the height of 1930s technology, which automatically replaced the pool’s contents every four hours to ensure the water was of “absolute purity”.
The original floor plans show the building was also fitted with showers, a laundry facility for washing and drying swimsuits, and over 130 changing cubicles.
Aside from catering to swimmers, the baths also originally had eight slipper baths in private cubicles, for the use of local people without a bath in their homes.
The baths closed November 2013.
The suggestion of building a pool was first put to the Health and Sanitary Committee of Haslingden Borough Council in November 1908.
Nearly ten years later, the Young Men’s Class of the Ebenezer Baptist Church’s Sunday School made an emphatic plea to the council to build a public baths to celebrate and commemorate the end of the First World War.
Talks continued for the next decade, but no real progress was made until 1932, when Mayor W.H. Baxter said in his inaugural speech that he hoped the swimming pool scheme would soon “engage the serious attention of the council.”
A sub-committee was formed the following year, and building was completed three years later.
Haslingden Baths was officially opened on August 22, 1936, when Mayor William Thacker unlocked the front door with a special commemorative key.
The Mayoress then cut a ribbon at the inner entrance of the baths, before guests went in to view the facilities.
At the poolside, the Mayor declared Haslingden Baths open to the public, and a commemorative plaque was unveiled.
The ceremony was followed by tea at the former Central Council School, now Haslingden Primary School, with a swimming gala held in the evening.
At the time, the new facilities were state-of-the-art. The programme from the opening boasts of a modern filtration system at the height of 1930s technology, which automatically replaced the pool’s contents every four hours to ensure the water was of “absolute purity”.
The original floor plans show the building was also fitted with showers, a laundry facility for washing and drying swimsuits, and over 130 changing cubicles.
Aside from catering to swimmers, the baths also originally had eight slipper baths in private cubicles, for the use of local people without a bath in their homes.
The baths closed November 2013.
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