I am researching the swimming pools in sheffield from 1879 to the present day for part of a project going towards my A-Level in Geography. I have been down to the local studies libary and got quite a bit of info from there but now i'm stuck and pleading for help! :(

If you can provide any of the missing info in the list of swimming pools below I would be VERY greatful! Thank-you!

Attercliffe: 1879 - 1981
Corporation Street: 1879 - 1962
Upperthorpe: 1896 - present
Glossop Road 1st: 1896 - 1991
Glossop Road Ladies: 1898 - 1991
Brightside: 1899 - 1964
Park: 1899 - 1989
Heeley: 1909 - present
Rivelin Valley: 1909 - 1939
Glossop Road Mens: 1912 - 1991
Hillsborough: 1929 - 1991
Sutherland Road: 1964 - ???
Chappel Town: 1950s/60s - present
Concord: ??? - ???
Graves: 1991 - present (1962 - present ~ rowlingson baths)
Hillsborough Leisure Center: 1991 - present
King Edwards: 1936 - present
Ponds Forge: 1991 - present
Springs: 1950s/60s - ???
Stocksbridge: 1970 - present (sports centre added in 1972)
West Field: ??? - ???
Woodthorpe: 1938 - present
Sheaf Valley: 1972 - 1991

Thanks,

-Paul-

Heeley, Upperthorpe (I think) and King Edwards are all still going - that info shouldn't be too hard to find. King Edwards has a website - try googling it

Ahh ok cheers Jayne, i'll go check that out. Im not originaly from Sheffield so i'm not to sure of my history!

-Paul-

Paul,

the corporation street baths are ones I have never heard of, I'm afraid, but, what I can tell you is, most definitely they are'nt the "West Street" baths, as those were called Glossop Road Baths, and are now a whetherspoons chain pub.

the baths were famous for their turkish baths.

they had two actual swimming pools, the cavendish and the... er... oh, drat I can't remember that pools name.. it was associated with the street names around that area, though, IIRC.

Way back when, many years ago, they used to hold dances at the baths. the pool was covered over with a dance floor, and fok could dance the night away.

the baths closed about 10 yrs or so ago, when the ponds forge baths opened.

the heeley baths are still open, on Broadfield Road, and they now incorporate a community centre called" Eveyone's Centre". I learnt to swim there,

Springs was originally called "hurlfield" after the school that the sports centre was housed in. It was a very small pool. only about 20 metres in length.. you could not swim a full 25 yards/ metres length in it. It still exists. it was built in the late 50's / early 60's IIRC.

Woodthorpe baths was built some time after the Woodthorpe school was built (school built in mid 30's) and was shut down, again about 10/11 years ago (possibly more, about 1990?) I only went there once in about 1989. it was a bit dingy.

Are you researching the outdoor pools, too? Because there was Millhouses Lido, which was fantastic fun on a blazing summer day with its two pools a baby/toddler shallower pool (about 18 inches in depth, and the adult pool which was a lot deeper. the water was bloomin' cold! It was such a shame that the Lido closed down. The paddling pools over the other side of the park, by the river sheaf just weren't the same :(

there was also Longley open-air pool, in Longley park. I only went there once as we lived the Millhouses side of town. someone in another thread mentioned the murky water.. .that's my memory of it, from 1982. I have to admit i sneaked in for a swim, with a gang of friends, one red-hot summer evening. I dread to think what could have happened if one of us had gotten into difficulty. it was shut down and demolished not that long after.

Sheaf valley, IIRC was built in about 1972/3.

HTH

PT

Cheers PT, I've up-dated the dates :)

-Paul-

Thr old Glossop Rd swimming baths, which are now part of Weatherspoons, are having the historic Turkish baths restored in thier original glory, Weatherspoons are financing this as a feature, nice to see someone actually having an interest in our history in a practical way.

Stocksbridge baths are still open!!

so is chappletown but not sure of what dates these were opened

Sheaf used to be where the National Express coaches pull up at the bus station. It used to be situated right next to the main road.

Chapeltown Baths is still going strong. Built I guess in the 50's / 60's at the same time as the new council houses and flats behind them. The 3 tower blocks are long gone, demolished in the very early 1990's I think.

Rowlinson School, Dyche Lane and now part of Norton College opened a pool in the early 70's. Don't know if it is still open.

There was an outdoor pool in Encliffe Park around 1920 and long since filled in. This had formerly been a mill dam and the site obvious by it's complete flatness at the bottom of a steep bank. There are 3 large ornamental cherry/almond trees standing in what would have been the middle of the pool.

Here is a photo of Corporation Street Baths from the 1960s.

Corporation Steet Baths (http://www.hpac.org.uk/cgi-bin/hpac.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.id=6040)

Corporation street baths were at the side of the Brown Cow which is now the Riverside at the bottom of Corporation street.There is a seating area where the baths used to be,they probably shut roundabout the early 1970s I would imagine.Hillsborough baths was were the Deep End is now.I learnt to swim there it was10 yards wide by 25 yards long ,there were also slipper baths there as well .

I went past the old glossop road baths today, and it triggered my memory of the names of the pools (See my post, higher up)

I could picture it in my mind's eye. You exited the changing rooms, and there was a sloping passageway, down to the larger pool, and up to the smallrr pool which ran along the west street/Glossop Road frontage of the building. The upper pool was very like Heeley in size and layout (Long and somewhat narrow) and the lower pool was more square and larger in shape. This is the one, I believe, which was boarded over for the dances.

I had already remembered the name of one, the Cavendish pool, earlier, and was wracking my brains to remember the name of the other..


it was the.....


[b "Victoria pool!"

yaaay! I remembered!

this evening, the baths were featured on Calendar, in an article about the old turkish baths, and how they have been restored to their former glory, and incoporated into a leisure development that is being completed underneath

Originally posted by Ned Ludd
Rowlinson School, Dyche Lane and now part of Norton College opened a pool in the early 70's. Don't know if it is still open.


This is indeed in the college, but it is considered part of Graves Leisure Centre I believe.

Rowlinson School opened in 1953, but I think the pool didn't arrive until the school became a technical college in 1971 (can anyone confirm this?)

So the entry for Graves should probably read 1971-present.

I was using the King Edward V11 baths back in 1955 and I'm sure they were built long before that. One feature I remember was that there were different coloured tiles, (yellow and white) on the floor to differentiate the areas you could walk in shoes and others in bare feet.

I was told a group of former old boys from King Edward School bught the place and are now running it as a private pool.

Hope this helps.

Local studies have some pictures of inside Park baths, I know cos I have some copies.
Also if you are doing the outdoor pools i have postcards of Longley, Hillsborough and Millhouses, which I could possibly copy.
Regards Maureen

I live on the Parson Cross estate and went to Monteney Junior school - we went every week to have swimming lessons at Chapeltown baths and that's where I learnt to swim.

Perhaps you could use that info too as it shows how the community baths served their areas.

........and as if by magic, look what's in today's Star

http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=756748

Thanks everyone for your replys so far. I'm so busy at the moment I don't have time to update the post with the dates just yet but I will do as soon as a get a free minute!

Originally posted by tiffy
........and as if by magic, look what's in today's Star

http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=756748

Yes, I saw this on Calender News last night. Looks kinda classy in there!

-Paul-

There was also an outdoor swimming pool in Endcliffe Park at the turn of the century, if you enter the park from hunters bar it was on the raised up section to the right,of main path and to the rear of the shelter that is there now.

best regards

soggy

Stocksbridge Swimming Pool was built in 1970. I believe that much of the funding was collected from local people. The Sports Centre was added in 1972. Both are still open.

I've just updated the dates. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far! :D

-Paul-

Hurlfield School (now called Myrtle Springs after it merged with Ashleigh) ha its own baths, on the East Bank Road site, when I went to school there. AFAIK theyre still there.

Originally posted by slh73
Hurlfield School (now called Myrtle Springs after it merged with Ashleigh) ha its own baths, on the East Bank Road site, when I went to school there. AFAIK theyre still there.

They'd better be! :D my friend goes swimming there once a week......

PT

Hi I am a journalism student writing a feature on the history of Hillsborough Baths, now the Deep End.
I am looking for information about how it used to look, the building, and what it cost to swim there. I also want to know when it closed.
If any one knows this information or remembers swimming there please let me knw, I would be most grateful
molly x

From the research that I have carried, i've found that Hillsborough baths opened 1929 and closed in 1991. Then the Hillsborough Leisure Center was built initially for the world student games in 1991, and is still open today.

-Paul-

We used to have the annual Boys Brigade swimmming competition there. I still have a couple of little plaques somewhere for winning the backstroke and coming second in freestyle :D

It had lots of changing booths with curtains down both sides, green(?) wall tiles and a gallery around at least 3 sides from where ISTR you could see into the changing booths!

For king edwards. was opened around 1939 i think and was built for the school. It was then taken over by the coucil (not sure of the date). It was then treatened with closure in 1993. Four businessmen set up a trust to save it. It has running as a trust ever since. It is the only pool in the area to run without a subsidy in the area. The manager is called Alan Joynes. He is a very helpful fella. If you contact him i'm sure he will help you out.

Heeley pool is still going and is the only pool that is directly run by the council. The council are talking about putting it to trust at the moment. This pool has a freinds group who would probably help you.

Hope this helps

Me and my mate learnt to swim at hillsborough baths in about 1974 swimming along the side holding onto the sort of trough at the side of the pool. I'm sure as well that there used to be a diving board in the deep end, also wasn't there two sort of baths just behind the shallow end,we were only ten so my memory's a bit jaded, what i can remember though was how cold it was when you got changed, a cold wind always seemed to blow and the toilets were absoloutely freezing. Still it never stopped us going.

Anyone any ideas as for the dates for Concord or Westfield baths?

Cheers,

-Paul-

I remember my grandad telling us about returning from France at the end of the 1914-18 war. Troops were marched to Glossop Rd baths from the trains , heads shaved , de-loused ,uniforms burned and sent home in clean clothes to rejoin their families.

Originally posted by Pauls-Stuff
I am researching the swimming pools in sheffield from 1879 to the present day for part of a project going towards my A-Level in Geography. I have been down to the local studies libary and got quite a bit of info from there but now i'm stuck and pleading for help! :(

If you can provide any of the missing info in the list of swimming pools below I would be VERY greatful! Thank-you!

Attercliffe: 1879 - 1981
Corporation Street: 1879 - 1962
Upperthorpe: 1896 - present
Glossop Road 1st: 1896 - 1991
Glossop Road Ladies: 1898 - 1991
Brightside: 1899 - 1964
Park: 1899 - 1989
Heeley: 1909 - present
Rivelin Valley: 1909 - 1939
Glossop Road Mens: 1912 - 1991
Hillsborough: 1929 - 1991
Sutherland Road: 1964 - ???
Chappel Town: 1950s/60s - present
Concord: ??? - ???
Graves: 1991 - present (1962 - present ~ rowlingson baths)
Hillsborough Leisure Center: 1991 - present
King Edwards: 1936 - present
Ponds Forge: 1991 - present
Springs: 1950s/60s - ???
Stocksbridge: 1970 - present (sports centre added in 1972)
West Field: ??? - ???
Woodthorpe: 1938 - present
Sheaf Valley: 1972 - 1991

Thanks,

-Paul-
try longly park

As a pupil of Concord Middle School [Shiregreen], I had to endure weekly trips to the infamous Sutherland Road Baths around 72/73. As far as I'm aware, they remained open until the late seventies [maybe later?]. They were filthy, with disgusting little changing rooms. I remember a maniacal Attendant with the surname Scott, who would delight in hurling timid boys into the depths of the "deep end". The obscene little coward got his comeuppance when the father of one lad came down to the baths and threw Mr Scott in! Sadly, I was feigning illness that day so I didn't witness the poetic justice being meted out, but he was a laughing stock afterwards. Damn his eyes!

I went to Ellesmere Road School in the 50's and we used to have swimming lessons at Sutherland Road Baths then, not sure when they were built but definitely before 1964 judging by the decor back then it would be more 1864. Never did learn to swim!

"I remember a maniacal Attendant with the surname Scott, who would delight in hurling timid boys into the depths of the "deep end".

I was at Ellesmere Rd school around 1960 and was taught to swim by Mr Scott at Sutherland Rd baths. I don't remember him being anything like a sadistic tyrant. He didn't stand any nonsense and had a whistle on a piece of cord round his neck. This cord was knotted and delivered a painful crack to any wrong-doers. I'm sure he didn't throw me in at the deep end.

Well Scotty must have lost his marbles in the early 70's then.

Originally posted by Pauls-Stuff
Anyone any ideas as for the dates for Concord or Westfield baths?

Cheers,

-Paul-

Westfield was built around 1955 and as far as I am aware is still open, although it is predominantly for the school, it used to open at nights and weekends to the general public.

I went to Burngreave back in the '40s and as far as I remember we went to Sutherland Road Baths every Wednesday. Our local public baths were Corporation Street. Believe me Sutherland Road were better then. There were 'slipper' baths at Corporation Street too. It must've been the smallest pool in Sheffield.

My dad used to 'swim' at the Corporation Street baths and he told me that it was the smallest public pool in the country

I have not been down there for years but at one time you could see the site where the baths were ( tiles on the wall) and judging by the area - Texas and me dad were right - two stokes would have got you from end to end!

I learned to swim at Upperthorpe baths in the 60's - can anyone remember the name of the swimming teacher at that time? - he was a bit fierce - kids would try and get out of swimming by saying they had a cold - his answer was always the same -

"You get colds from germs lad - not water - get in!!!"

I am researching the swimming pools in sheffield from 1879 to the present day for part of a project going towards my A-Level in Geography. I have been down to the local studies libary and got quite a bit of info from there but now i'm stuck and pleading for help! :(

If you can provide any of the missing info in the list of swimming pools below I would be VERY greatful! Thank-you!

Attercliffe: 1879 - 1981
Corporation Street: 1879 - 1962
Upperthorpe: 1896 - present
Glossop Road 1st: 1896 - 1991
Glossop Road Ladies: 1898 - 1991
Brightside: 1899 - 1964
Park: 1899 - 1989
Heeley: 1909 - present
Rivelin Valley: 1909 - 1939
Glossop Road Mens: 1912 - 1991
Hillsborough: 1929 - 1991
Sutherland Road: 1964 - ???
Chappel Town: 1950s/60s - present
Concord: ??? - ???
Graves: 1991 - present (1962 - present ~ rowlingson baths)
Hillsborough Leisure Center: 1991 - present
King Edwards: 1936 - present
Ponds Forge: 1991 - present
Springs: 1950s/60s - ???
Stocksbridge: 1970 - present (sports centre added in 1972)
West Field: ??? - ???
Woodthorpe: 1938 - present
Sheaf Valley: 1972 - 1991

Thanks,

-Paul-


Hi there i was a younge girl and learnt to swim in atercliffe baths it was a lovely swimming pool very warm very deep with changing rooms around the outside, on the pool side. There was a spectators area upstairs very grand although i never wentup. I think it was filled in and converted to offices in the early nineties.

Hillborough baths very similar victorian as was atterclife, same changing room arrangements it is now a bar dam shame.

Lots of photos at www.picturesheffield.com, such as:

http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=s03955

Ask Mike Spick at local studies, he's a really helpful guy and I'm sure he won't mind you right-clicking, copy and pasting some photos into your project from the website.

TRW

I went to Burngreave back in the '40s and as far as I remember we went to Sutherland Road Baths every Wednesday. Our local public baths were Corporation Street. Believe me Sutherland Road were better then. There were 'slipper' baths at Corporation Street too. It must've been the smallest pool in Sheffield.
Since I wrote the above message, I've remembered that the only certificate I obtained for swimming was for 50yds, this at Corporation Street. 50yds was two lengths of the pool.

Sutherland road baths was older than 1964, around 1900 i guess, I lived just above the baths and they were no longer being used in 1976 and at that time the building was due for demolition, the same time i moved from the area.

I remember going to Corporation Street baths for swimming lessons from school in the 1960's

We were taken by double decker bus from Shirecliffe school to the baths, which had the changing rooms at the poolside and were always cold. It took us longer to get there and get changed than we were in the water. I am still recovering did not get water confident till in my 30's and still do not like cold water brrr

remember going to Attercliffe baths straight from work 1964 ish and swimming backstroke opening my eyes to see lots of people looking down on swimmers from above....scary but fun

I don't seem to have read the University of Sheffield swimming pool on Northumberland Road which I believe is now open to the public under the S10 banner?

I am researching the swimming pools in sheffield from 1879 to the present day for part of a project going towards my A-Level in Geography. I have been down to the local studies libary and got quite a bit of info from there but now i'm stuck and pleading for help! :(

If you can provide any of the missing info in the list of swimming pools below I would be VERY greatful! Thank-you!

Attercliffe: 1879 - 1981
Corporation Street: 1879 - 1962
Upperthorpe: 1896 - present
Glossop Road 1st: 1896 - 1991
Glossop Road Ladies: 1898 - 1991
Brightside: 1899 - 1964
Park: 1899 - 1989
Heeley: 1909 - present
Rivelin Valley: 1909 - 1939
Glossop Road Mens: 1912 - 1991
Hillsborough: 1929 - 1991
Sutherland Road: 1964 - ???
Chappel Town: 1950s/60s - present
Concord: ??? - ???
Graves: 1991 - present (1962 - present ~ rowlingson baths)
Hillsborough Leisure Center: 1991 - present
King Edwards: 1936 - present
Ponds Forge: 1991 - present
Springs: 1950s/60s - ???
Stocksbridge: 1970 - present (sports centre added in 1972)
West Field: ??? - ???
Woodthorpe: 1938 - present
Sheaf Valley: 1972 - 1991

Thanks,

-Paul- I can remember King Edwards pool before 1936, as being open to the air ,surrounded by a high stone wall, which as kids we used to climb over after schooltime and have great fun swimming in the nude and rafting with the wooden walk boards, we were not pupils ,just the local ragamuffins.

Since I wrote the above message, I've remembered that the only certificate I obtained for swimming was for 50yds, this at Corporation Street. 50yds was two lengths of the pool. Hi Texas I went to Sutherland rd baths from 1937 till I was married in 1946 both the slipper [no bathroom at home] and swimming bath I went to All Saints school in Sutherland rd and learned to swim there, I have tried to contact any schoolmates from that that time but they must be either dead or do not use this forum, or maybe no PC, Cheers Arthur.

Hi Texas I went to Sutherland rd baths from 1937 till I was married in 1946 both the slipper [no bathroom at home] and swimming bath I went to All Saints school in Sutherland rd and learned to swim there, I have tried to contact any schoolmates from that that time but they must be either dead or do not use this forum, or maybe no PC, Cheers Arthur.
I also learnt to swim at Sutherland Road baths, even though I lived in Attercliffe, my junior school (Carbrook) were just not good enough at training for my parents so I attended swimming classes at SR.
Laterly I went to Oakwood and often called in at Longley Park in the summer evenings before going home. Longley was not as good as Millhouses which we would travel a long way to go to, it was like going to a theme park today. Besides the pool there was a putting green and you could build dams in the river, it was a total day out.

You mention in your list "Riverlin Valley", the only one I know for the period you mention was an open air one, it is still there but unfortunally very overgrown.

What happened to the Rolf Harris painting from the diving pit at Sheaf Valley?

Was it by any chance relocated to Ponds Forge?

One outdoor pool I dont think has been mentioned .
In Encliffe park there was a bathing pool in 1895. Information and photos about this pool ,and others that have been mentioned can be found in a book called
' Sheffield Parks and Gardens ' by Douglas Hindmarch.

longley park open air baths used to take kids there

You mention in your list "Riverlin Valley", the only one I know for the period you mention was an open air one, it is still there but unfortunally very overgrown.

Just noticed that this is an old thread- but history has been made already since the OP.

I'm not sure that the pool in Rivelin was ever overgrown- I took my nephews there a couple of summers ago, and last time I past it looked fine to me.
Also, Hillsborough baths became the Deep end but is now Wetherspoons.
Just wondering what other changes there will be over the next few years?

there used to be a boating lake near firth park library kids used it for a paddling pool

Longley Park, open air, the coldest water this side of the Arctic circle.

Local studies have some pictures of inside Park baths, I know cos I have some copies.
Also if you are doing the outdoor pools i have postcards of Longley, Hillsborough and Millhouses, which I could possibly copy.
Regards Maureen

I knew longley and millhouses had pools in there parks, I never knew Hillsborough park did or am I confusing this with Hillsbourough baths?

I'm not sure that the pool in Rivelin was ever overgrown- I took my nephews there a couple of summers ago, and last time I past it looked fine to me.

I think you are thinking of the paddling pool next to the road, which is not very old. The swimming pool was further up stream beyond the modern playground. It was an old dam re-used as a pool. The dam is still there but, indeed, very overgrown.

Hugh :)

:Westfield was built around 1955 and as far as I am aware is still open, although it is predominantly for the school, it used to open at nights and weekends to the general public.
:cool:I may be wrong,but i went to westfield 1960-64 and no baths had been built then.When we went for swimming lessons from Westfield as i recall we used to go to Ringwood open air pool at Staveley on a bus,it was freezing,had a rough concrete floor and always had leaves floating on the top,still it was better than RE. As i remember about Glossop Rd,there were 3 seperate swimming areas the mixed baths,which was the largest pool,mens baths,and ladies baths,plus the slipper baths:cool:

I leant to swim at Hillsborough Baths in the fifties infact is was a second home for me and my brothers,because we only lived across the road.
Having not got a bathroom in our houses at that time we had to go to the slipper baths.
The attendant filled the bath for you with a special key from outside the small bathrooms I think there were eight on the womens side and eight on the mens side.
You were only allowed a certain amount of water,and if it was too hot when you got in you had to ring a bell and shout to the attendant what you wanted more hot or more cold.You had to take your own soap and towels or you could pay extra for hire of a towel
And you only had so many minutes.My grandchildren cannot believe we shared a bathroom with everyone in the district.

The Swimming Baths.
Small cubicles with a duck board and and only a curtain to protect your modesty.
men on one side and women on the other.
The back entrance on Walkley Lane had a communal changing room used mainly by schools.
The baths were lovely and clean and lots of district galas were held there.
I think it was 6 old pennies a session,but we used to go Saturday mornings around 7 a.m. and if lucky could stay in until 11.a.m.when it got busy.
Our school used to give card with small perforated tickets and you could tear of one of these ticket and get into the baths for 2 old pence.

I am researching the swimming pools in sheffield from 1879 to the present day for part of a project going towards my A-Level in Geography. I have been down to the local studies libary and got quite a bit of info from there but now i'm stuck and pleading for help! :(

Woodthorpe: 1938 - present

Thanks,

-Paul-

Do you know that there was an open air swimming pool at Bowden Woods, it was uncovered when the built the Mosborough Parkway.
Also try Sheffield Growth of a City by H Keeble Hawson Try 'Manor and Woodthorpe Review' it might have something on the baths at Woodthorpe. All in LS.

I think it might be a bit late to help Paul now since he was doing his A level in 2004! :hihi:

This is a very interesting thread though. I love the spa which replaced the old Turkish baths and I'm a regular user of Stocksbridge swimming pool too. So does anyone know when the Stocksbridge pool was built?

Don't know exactly what you are lookinf for:
Corporation street pool was at the bottom of Corp: Street on the left coming from west bar, it is next to the river Don.

Attercliffe baths was facing the top of Newhall Road.

In the 50s/60s, High Storrs Grammar School (Boys) didn't have a swimming pool of its own but used the one at King Ted's. It was an extracurricular activity though.

There used to be an open air heated pool at Hathersage. Don't know whether it's still there though.

I guess they were called "baths" as opposed to "pools" because people used to wash themselves in the small shallow pools that invariably were alongside the swimming pool. I remember sitting in those pools as a kid while people scrubbed themselves down with bars of soap. Communal hygiene.

I believe there was a open air swimming pool at handworth that was used by the miners at handsworth pitt,it was roughly where the rouderbout is now at the end of mosborough parkway where you go left onto parkway or right towards asda at handsworth..

heeley baths is still open.in the 50'sand60's i grew up not far from there and went as often as we could afford there was also a "slipper" baths where you could go if you didn't have abathroom at home and there were showers incorporated in them,also they had a sauna where you could have a massage.next door was a wash house which was popular with the families from the back to back hses cause they had very little room in the hses. in millhouses park thers used to be a lido swimming area which was very popular but someone in their wisdom decided to close it down for "safety" reasons.very sad.

As I remember it the pool at Glossop Road had two pools, the 'ordinary pool' and the first class baths which was more expensive, we never went in there so I don't know what was first class about it?
I was a Carbrook School and in the infants we were taken one day a week for showers at the Attercliffe Washouse, in Junior School we went instead to Attercliffe Baths, and we used to be given tickets so we could go free in our own time.
I learnt to swim at Sutherland Road baths because that was where my swimming teacher worked from.

Forgot to say, when I went the City Grammar School our weekly baths trip was to King Edwards Baths, but can't remember what happened when it moved to Stradbroke.