Corporation Swimming Baths

[Kidorry]

You have got me thinking now Falls because I always thought you went upstairs to the slipper baths.Can you remember the little woman that cleaned the slipper baths? She always said "and don`t forget to wash the bath out when you have done".They were a godsend really because no one I knew had a bath except the zinc ones.

[Falls]

You have got me thinking now Falls because I always thought you went upstairs to the slipper baths.Can you remember the little woman that cleaned the slipper baths? She always said "and don`t forget to wash the bath out when you have done".They were a godsend really because no one I knew had a bath except the zinc ones.

 

Hi,

 

You'll remember there were at least three small foot baths (I always knew them as slipper baths). One was tucked in the corner at the shallow end of the pool. The others were on the lower level down on the river side.

 

Your right about the main bathrooms (slipper baths?) with only a piece of cloth across the entrances. They were up the spiral stone staircase on the higher level.

 

I can't remember the lady keeping them clean but I do remember the male attendant somebody metioned earlier. He always looked a fierce so & so, with his close-cropped hair and those tiny glasses with wire frames. My dad knew him from way-back in the 1920's so when he and I went to the baths early on Saturday mornings, these two spent most of the time talking while I did all the swimming.

 

One other thing. You'll remember there were cabins down both sides of the pool but one particular cabin on the Mobray Street side had a door out in to the street. It was always locked and bolted but when the kids came from Pye Bank School, we weren't allowed to use that particular cabin. That didn't stop some kids sneaking-in and trying to open it. They never got it open.

 

All a long time ago.

 

Take Care

[Nigel Womersle]

Whn we used to go from school, the baths attendant was Mr Ellis. A rather short tempered man.

[Texas]

HI,

 

I learnt to swim there in WWII when Herbert Morton was the manager. When I'm in Sheffield, I occasionally go down to the old neighbourhood to see what's changed. When you look over the wall, its difficult to believe any body could have squeezed a swimming bath onto that site. It must have been one of the oldest in the city

 

The pool was just 50ft (16 2/3 yds) long and only 5ft, 6 inches at the deep end. (All the other city baths were at least 25 yards long and at least 6ft deep) Remember there wasn't a walkway at the deep end, just a narrow ledge little more than a foot wide. If two kids tried to pass one another on that ledge, one usually ened-up in the water.

 

Remember the mens/boys toilet was up a flight of steps on the river side but the windows were always open. Absolutely freezing in winter and not much warmer in summer. The slipper baths down the stairs on the river side were just as cold. As for the colour of the tiles, all I remember is basic "White".

 

There were certainly no frills at Corporation Street Baths but it was the Wicker district's one-and-only asset so we didn't "knock it".

 

Regards

Some interesting detail there falls. Being at Pye Bank same as yourself, I also learned to swim there. I got my 50 yd certificate at Corporation St Baths, for that I had to do two lengths. Wasn't there a shower to be used before you went in the pool? Regarding the addition of chlorine to the water. There is no doubt it was necessary, but I had a good mate at school, Jackson Horrocks, lived on Nottingham St. He always blamed the fact he went blind because of the chlorine used there. I remember the time clearly he first complained of his eyes being sore and having blurred vision. We had just been to the baths. It was diagnosed differently later but he was never conviced.