Name: Moseley Road Baths Location: Balsall Heath, Birmingham Current status: Open Date built: 1907 Architect: William Hale & Son Listed building status: Grade II* Lead organisation: Moseley Road Baths CIO (building owner Birmingham City Council)
Description
Moseley Road Baths is a Grade II* listed Edwardian swimming pool which opened in 1907 and has been at the heart of the Balsall Heath community ever since. The Baths and adjacent library were offered as an incentive for the people of Balsall Heath to join the newly created city of Birmingham.
The building has a red brick and terracotta façade. There were originally three entrances dividing visitors into men’s first or second class washing baths and swimming pools, with a third entrance to the women’s washing baths – it was several years before women were allowed to swim and the pools were then segregated with a men’s side and a women’s side! The washing baths, or ‘slipper baths’ as they were known, were still being used until October 2004 and all 46 of the original cubicles are still in place..
Facilities
The smaller of the two pools (known as ‘Pool 2’) is currently open for swimming seven days a week. The pool is just over 21m long and around 10m wide. The larger, which is known as the ‘Gala Pool’, is currently used for dry activities including fitness events, concerts and craft sessions.
Notable facts
Moseley Road Baths has possibly the only surviving steam-heated drying racks in a British swimming pool.
Current plans
Work has now begun on the first phase of an ambitious £32.7m masterplan to transform the Grade II* Listed Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath Library. The Moseley Road Baths Coalition (comprising of Birmingham City Council, Friends of Moseley Road Baths, Historic England, Moseley Road Baths CIO, National Trust, and World Monument Fund) has been developing a long-term vision to restore and reimagine the Baths and Library so that they continue to serve local people as well as appeal to historic pool enthusiasts from around the world!
