February: Image of the Month

We are taking you back to 1902 for our February image of the month and an archive picture of our newest member Arlington Baths Club, located in Glasgow’s west end.  This is a pool with a rich and fascinating architectural and social history.  It is thought to be the first Victorian swimming club in the UK having been established in 1870 by a group of Glasgow business men as a members-only swimming pool.  When in 1875 a Turkish Baths was added this was inspired by the Alhambra in Spain, which you can see echoed in the encaustic floor tiles and vitreous mosaic tesserae.  Its ethos then, as now, nods to an understanding of the importance of both leisure and wellbeing.

One of the pool’s iconic features is the set of travelling rings and two trapezes that are suspended from the ceiling beams.  Scotland has a long history of travelling rings, which were a form of exercise and physical therapy.

Today the Club has around 1,300 members, all of whom have equal voting rights, and the Club is led by a Board of Management made up of members.

You can read the full HPB entry and see more images here.