Heeley Baths - memories

[Sarah.loy@gm]

Does anyone have any memories (preferably photographs) from Heeley Baths. Working on the reopening and would be great to have some really nice stories/images to support us:help:

[brianthedog]

I used to be in the cubs and scouts at Ecclesall church. They used to have all their swimming galas there which always ended up with someone getting thrown in and then acting suprised. I'd be very surprised if they didn't have photos from then (mid 80s time).

 

When's it re-opening? What work is being done on it? I'd love to go there again!

[Sarah.loy@gm]

Was due to open 18th Feb but delays have struck so now start of March. Had a great deal of work,new roof and changing rooms have been modernised.

[sharrovian]

I used to go to Heeley Baths in the 40s and 50s, as a schoolboy I remember being given a folded card at school half of which was perforated into small tickets, it was a real treat to be able to go into the baths for half price (2d and a bath ticket). The local schools used to compete in Galas at that time, as well as going in my own time I went once a week with the school, there was a man there who taught the non-swimmers called Mr. Brooks.

[Plain Talker]

in 1974 I was at heeley baths with Mr Walker from Sharrow Lane school, for a swimming club practice.

 

I dived in, and, instead of curving my hands to bring me back up, I kept my hands straight.

 

I swam like a brick, straight to the bottom, and clouted my head on the tiled floor of the pool, knocking myself out. The "cob" where my forehead had impacted on the tiles looked like someone had stuck a boiled egg on my forehead, it came out further than my nose.

 

I still have the lump on my forehead, thirty- four or so years on.

[DUFFEMS]

We used to go once a week when we were pupils of Carfield Junior school. The teacher who taught us swimming was called Mr.Wall, he wielded an enormously long stick with which he used to hit you under the chin in order to keep your face out of the water and keep your head up.

They wouldn't get away with that one now, the social services would have been round!

[MonksKirby]

Apart from going there as a schoolboy in the forties I used the baths later when I started work where it was also used to have a bath. Part of the floor area was set out as open topped bathing rooms which contained a roll top bath a small wooden platform to stand on and a single chair. There would be about sdixteen of these 'rooms' eight each side of a central walkway and I think it cost 10p in old money. As Saturday morning was a working day I can leave you to imagine what the atmosphere was like in the baths on a Saturday afternoon - talk about a Turkish Bath the steam was so thick you couldn't see who'd come in with you!

[carsupplier]

I used to have swimming lessons at Sheaf Valley baths and as I remember, the instructors name was Ken. He then moved up to Heeley baths around 1974. Does anyone remember him?

[jennie1]

i use to go swimming every weekend with my nephews and friends to heeley baths. we also use to go with sharrow lane school once a week.

[marieharvey]

My sisters and I used to go swimming at Heeley baths on our way home from Abbeydale School, in the early sixties. We would go two or three times a week and I remember the changing cubicles on the side of the pool. If it was busy you sometime had to share them and sometimes your clothes would get wet if there was a lot of splashing going on in the pool.

 

I also remember the slipper baths. We did not have a bathroom in our house and would go to the slipper baths for a bath on special occasions, such as going on holiday. The rest of the year we had to make do with the tin bath in front of the fire.