Glossop Road Swimming Baths

[pjkay 10]

No. You've got the right pool. I went from about '53 to '59 with Pomona street school and later with Greystones. We got the bath cards and used them during the school holidays. All the cubicles had doors on them and the horrible coconut matting. Did my first dive off the top of the steps. Looked really high but I suppose it was only about five feet from the pool side. The mixed bathing pool was where they had the dances on Saturday afternoons run by Walter Collinson. I used to go to his dance school on Havelock Square and he used to have his medal presentations at Glossop road. I used to lead off with him when he was doing a dance his wife didn't like.

But back to the swimming. We never bothered with the vending machines but we used to go to the cafe on Convent Walk (opposite the entrance to the boy's baths) for a doorstep dripping crust. It cost a penny (lovely). Does no-one remember the cafe?

See you went to collinsons to dance..did you remember a girl called Shirley Chilton..She used to teach there??

[Plain Talker 11]

fatrajah:-

the reason that the "smiley" appeared is that the letter 8, plus a bracket , so:- ) gives a smiley of , it's something to do with the coding that gives us a "winking" smiley, if we type a ; plus a ) - or a smile if we type : plus a ) so:-

[fatrajah 10]

fatrajah:-

the reason that the "smiley" appeared is that the letter 8, plus a bracket , so:- ) gives a smiley of , it's something to do with the coding that gives us a "winking" smiley, if we type a ; plus a ) - or a smile if we type : plus a ) so:-

 

Thanks for the info, Plain Talker. The smilies didn't show up as I typed the post in, but appeared when I pressed "save".

[pdmiltonst 10]

I lived in Milton Street, also went to Springfield and learned to swim here in the late 50's. The baths were amazing. My abiding memory is being in the school (or may have been St Silas Scouts) swimming competition and being beaten into 2nd place in the diving competition by David Belt. Great memories.

[JOHN HABS 10]

I lived in Milton Street, also went to Springfield and learned to swim here in the late 50's. The baths were amazing. My abiding memory is being in the school (or may have been St Silas Scouts) swimming competition and being beaten into 2nd place in the diving competition by David Belt. Great memories.

 

Hello, I also went to Springfield School ( and then on to Tapton ) you must have been at Springfield the same has myself. The Headmaster and Head Mistress was Mr. Mrs Holdsworth

Due to it being that long ago, I've forgotten the names of the teachers - apart from a Miss Hall.

 

Don't know if you remember but at Springfield every year, they use to award a free swimming pool pass to any pool in Sheffield for the best boy and girl swimmer of that year in the school - I was fortunate to win one of those passes along with a girl called Sandra South who lived on Broomspring Lane - I lived in Victoria Street.

 

One of my mates was David Belt and I swam in the gala for my house ( Red badge - Cavendish ) before the diving event commenced. David Belt went off the top board of the mixed bathing pool.

 

JOHN HABS

[IRONMONGER 10]

I was at Lydgate School and Mr. Farley used to take us to Glossop Road every Wednesday afternoon (circa 1957). I loved swimming but when it came to diving I was scared and used to feign sickness every Wednesday to avoid school. At a School open day Mr. Farley asked my mum why I didn't go swimming any more? Mum told him that I was frightened to dive in. Mr. Farley said of course he doesn't have to dive in at all. So I went back swimming and within weeks was diving in anyway - ah, that's kids for you.

I also hated School sports days, held at Darwin Lane, cos I couldn't bloody run but one year the Lord Mayor came and presented me with a certificate for swimming 880 yards, and I was chuffed to bits.

We also joined Sheffield Family Swiming Club which met at Glossop Road one evening a week.

[pdmiltonst 10]

Hi John! John Habershon, I remember you, you're a year older than me I think & were in my cousin Dave Holmes class? I remember the Holdsworths at Springfield. My teacher was Mrs Tucker, but I can't remember any others. Another thing I remember was Ernest Pym (do you remember him?) peeing over the toilet wall in the playground into the girls! What's he doing now I wonder?!

Regards

Paul

[earthdragon 10]

Yes, I do indeed have fond memories of Glossop Road swimming baths. I had private swimming lessons there (although sadly I never learned to dive). My junior school (Nether Green) attended swimming galas there and it was at Glossop Road that I took my various swimming certificates - 25 metres, half mile and mile. I used to go swimming regularly, either on my own or with my brother and sister. I can't remember whether there were three pools or not, but there certainly was a Ladies pool and a Mixed pool.

 

Upstairs, were the Turkish Baths and I can remember the luxury of having a bath in one of those deep tubs full of lovely hot soapy water - a luxury indeed, given that we didn't have a bathroom at home and baths were taken in a tin tub in front of the fire.

 

After swimming, we would go to the sweetshop across the road and buy Orange Jubilees (triangles of frozen orange juice, wrapped in waxed paper which was particularly difficult to undo) and cinder toffee - sometimes a comic as well if we had enough money. Or if it was cold, we would go to a nearby café called The Shack, and buy hot dogs or toasted teacake and a cappuccino. Sadly, The Shack has now been replaced by an Italian restaurant.

[willybite 10]

Yes, I do indeed have fond memories of Glossop Road swimming baths. I had private swimming lessons there (although sadly I never learned to dive). My junior school (Nether Green) attended swimming galas there and it was at Glossop Road that I took my various swimming certificates - 25 metres, half mile and mile. I used to go swimming regularly, either on my own or with my brother and sister. I can't remember whether there were three pools or not, but there certainly was a Ladies pool and a Mixed pool.

 

Upstairs, were the Turkish Baths and I can remember the luxury of having a bath in one of those deep tubs full of lovely hot soapy water - a luxury indeed, given that we didn't have a bathroom at home and baths were taken in a tin tub in front of the fire.

 

After swimming, we would go to the sweetshop across the road and buy Orange Jubilees (triangles of frozen orange juice, wrapped in waxed paper which was particularly difficult to undo) and cinder toffee - sometimes a comic as well if we had enough money. Or if it was cold, we would go to a nearby café called The Shack, and buy hot dogs or toasted teacake and a cappuccino. Sadly, The Shack has now been replaced by an Italian restaurant.

 

hiya i think you have got it a bit mixed,what i remember at glossop rd baths the turkish baths were down stairs in between the boys and girls pools the

upstairs deep tubs were as we called the slipper baths they ran around the balcony of the boys bath,ps in the 40s and50s no one had a bath in house, and another thing to say the baths were on the doorstep surprisig numbers there were that couldn't swim, my mum and her 4 siblings to name 5.

[eadsey 10]

Anyone remember the 3 swimming pools at Glossop Road......the ladies pool, the gents pool and the mixed bathing pool ?

I use to live in Victoria Street as a child and went to Springfield Junior School, we use to get issued with a baths card ( a card made up of a number of small squares with serated edges), on producing the card on entry the attendant would tear one of the small squares off and charge us 6d.

The gents pool was very basic in layout with a 3 height diving platform, the ladies pool was much more elegant but also had a 3 height diving platform, behind which was diagrams showing how to dive. The mixed bathing pool had a springboard and a very high diving board

Remember standing on the end of it and looking down at the water below - seemed a long drop, took me a while to muster courage to just jump off it and when I did the stomach turned over !!

One of the best bits of my visits to the baths, was going to the vending machine afterwards and getting a packet of those cheese nibbles you could get along with a plastic cup of that thin watery chicken flavoured soup with the green bits in, then going to the nearby papershop in Cavendish Street for my comics: Hotspur, Victor, beano or Dandy.

 

I remember all this and the penny crust from the café on Convent Walk next to Bluetts joke shop

 

---------- Post added 28-10-2015 at 07:13 ----------

 

I remember all this and the penny crust from the café on Convent Walk next to Bluetts joke shop

[JackD 10]

Hi all,what Willy says is all correct, because we were in the same class at springfield. We went to the baths every week for a swimming lesson.

Nice hearing from you Willy (plus your fantastic memory).

[willybite 10]

See you went to collinsons to dance..did you remember a girl called Shirley Chilton..She used to teach there??

 

i remember the cafe on convent walk also one or two shops the paper shop keeper was called furnace whose son was called alwin he waS A YEAR OLDER THAN ME I AM 77 NOW, then there was bluetts a joke come tattooist, the cafe,shearstone peters and dunne optitians, but my memory of the cafe being opposite the boys bath doorway was not where you say as accross was the notre dame school doorway