Hyde Baths

I was asked recently if I knew when Hyde Swimming Baths were closed down and the buildings demolished and although I used to go there regularly I couldn't actually remember when this was. I believe it was around 1984-ish but not 100% sure . I would be grateful if anyone could actually tell me the precise date.



I know the Baths were opened on  May 4th 1889.
I also know that the Leisure Pool on Walker Lane was originally built in June 1988 and has undergone various refurbishments over the past 25 years.

 
Aeriel view of the Leisure centre taken a few years ago.

The distictive red stand of Hyde United (now Hyde FC) can be seen top left. This is now dark blue .
Walker Lane runs along the bottom of the picture. The road to the right is Grange Road North or, as it used to be known, Fairbrother Street !
The field to the right used to be known as "Charlie Barbers Field".

Edit
Charlie Barbers Field was opposite the leisure pool on the other side of Walker Lane - where Leigh Primary now stands !
Thanks Bill :)

Map courtesy of Bing maps.

Hyde Baths part 2

Following the post about Hyde Baths the other day, here is a photo sent in to us by Eric Downs.
It shows the inside of the "Big Pool".

Also the British Restaurant post evoked this response from Ken Smith !!

"My great uncle, Jimmy Oakes, was fireman/laundryman at Hyde baths for about thirty years.

His job included the shovelling of all coal delivered and dumped up the side of the building down into the boiler room where he was responsible for all the stoking and maintenance of the huge 'Lancashire' boiler including the annual flue-cleaning when, once the boiler had cooled, he had to crawl along the now empty fire duct to bring down and clear all the accumulation of soot. He was also responsible for the laundry where all hired towels and swimming costumes were washed and dried and for making the soap which was used in the public baths.

He was responsible for topping up and servicing the filters and pumps necessary for maintaining water quality and swept the Ladies and Men's plunges to remove dirt and dust that had settled to the bottom.

He carried out regular inspection of all the piping within the subterranean tunnels under the baths and was aided in all of this by just one assistant!

I wonder how many takers there would now be for that job should it be advertised?

As a youngster, I used to walk with him to work at 6.00AM and swim in the men's plunge in total isolation before I went off to do my morning paper round - happy days! I also used to eat with him in the British Restaurant, which was just about his only 'perk' apart from me getting in for free!

Ken Smith.

PS: The attachment is my Mother's swimming pass for the year 1930!"

Many Thanks, Eric and Ken !!  :)

Hyde Baths

This is another newspaper cutting from the 'All Our Yesterdays' paper printed by the Reporter some years ago.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about British Restaurants:

"British Restaurants were communal kitchens created during the Second World War to ensure communities and people who had run out of rationing coupons were still able to eat.

They were set up by the Ministry of Food and run by local committees on a non-profit making basis. Meals were purchased for a set maximum price of 9d (equivalent to just under 4p, about $2 US or £1 GBP in purchasing power 2008) or less. No-one could be served with a meal of more than one serving of meat, game, poultry, fish, eggs, or cheese. Restaurants in the UK were not subject to rationing but some restrictions were placed on them, for instance no meal could be more than three courses and the maximum price was five shillings (equivalent to 25p today, but $10 or £5 in buying power 2008).

Originally called 'Community Feeding Centres', the name British Restaurants was preferred by Winston Churchill.

By mid-1941 over 200 of these restaurants existed in the London County Council area, although the Wartime Social Survey conducted in 1942-43 indicated they were more popular in London than in the rest of the country. In November 1942 there were 1,899 restaurants, in November 1943 there were 2,145 and in December 1944 there were 1,931. 546 authorities made profits and 203 made losses, though they were set up to be not-for-profit.

Some smaller places did not qualify for a British Restaurant but instead had what was termed a Cash and Carry Restaurant with meals being delivered from a British Restaurant in the area."

London Olympics 1948

HYDE'S LAST OLYMPIAN

In the early 1900s we had Hyde swimmers representing Great Britain in the Olympic Games but many people will remember the town's last Olympian, Lillian Preece.
Born on April 1st, 1928, Lillian learnt to swim when she was 11.  Her progress was so rapid that in the same year she won three titles at the Hyde Seal annual gala. The war stopped all competitions but by the time she was 19 she was setting ASA records and winning Cheshire County and Northern Counties championships. In 1947 she was selected to represent Britain in the European championships in Monte Carlo. Money was scarce after the war so because the ASA was unable to provide the swimmers with lightweight costumes an appeal was made to the newspapers, and Lillian had to compete in Monte Carlo wearing a man's waterpolo swim suit. She took part in the 4 x 100m relay team which was placed third.

 Lillian at Monte Carlo in a waterpolo swimsuit.

 The following year she was selected to represent Great Britain at the Olympics in London. She stayed at the Eccleston Square Domestic Science College along with swimmers from Belgium, France, Switzerland Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. There were no proper training facilities at the Empire Pool where everyone was trying to train at the same time and arrangements had to be made at other pools in the area.

 

Olympic Games opening ceremony, 1948

 

 

 

 After the Olympics there was a reception at Buckingham Palace.

More success and more championships followed and in 1952 Lillian was chosen to captain the women's Olympic team in Helsinki where she reached the semi-final of the 100 metres and was the fastest British competitor.
During her swimming career she went to New Zealand, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Paris, Nice, Monaco, Turin, Curacao, Dutch West Indies and Panama and captained International teams on three occasions.
In 1953 Lillian was awarded the ASA Yeadon Trophy as Swimmer of the Year.
Unfortunately, in 1958 nine of her medals were stolen, including commemorative medals from the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, and one for the 1950 Empire games, all bearing her name.


She left Hyde to live in Wallasey with her husband, himself a former backstroke champion and captain of the Cheshire Waterpolo team, but never lost contact with Hyde Seal and was an inspiration to many younger swimmers.
Many people will remember this picture of Lillian which hung in Hyde Baths for many years.

 

Lillian Preece

.

 Lillian eventually emigrated to Zimbabwe where she died in 2004.
 Preece Close in Newton is named after her.


Many thanks to Marjorie Robinson for this fabulous account and all the photographs of a very talented lady, all of which are new to me !





                                

Hyde Public Baths

The following is taken from Tameside's website. tameside.gov.uk

It shows Hyde Baths which stood on Union Street.

To the right of the Baths is the Public Library and Union Street Congregational Church.

The Baths in Union Street were opened on May 4th 1889

They were designed by the Town Hall architect, J.W. Beaumont, but the North Cheshire Herald commented at their opening that they were "not perhaps so handsome externally as could have been desired".

The building contained six slipper baths, a laundry, a men's plunge bath, a smaller ladies plunge bath, thirty-eight dressing boxes and a gallery capable of holding several hundred spectators.

The success of the baths was reflected in the number of champion swimmers produced by the town and in the Hyde Seals Water Polo Team, three times world champions (1904-1906).

Many thanks to Tameside.gov.uk !

The pages below are scanned from the Borough Of Hyde Abstract Of Accounts 1914 - 1915

If you know of any more of the Borough Account Books I'd be most interested in them.