Guildford Crescent Baths
The Guildford Crescent Baths, originally known as the Corporation Baths, was a public swimming pool building in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It was demolished in 1985.
Background[edit]
The swimming baths in Guildford Crescent, Cardiff, were originally opened by the Cardiff Baths Company Ltd in April 1862. They included a first class and a second class swimming pools, a Turkish bath, a Mikveh and a gymnasium.[1] The building was designed by T. Waring and cost £3,700 to construct. With a capacity of one million gallons of water (4.5 million litres), the facilities were located next to the Bute Docks Feeder canal.[2] The canal was culverted in 1949 and now flows under Churchill Way.[3]
Cardiff Borough Council acquired the baths in 1873.[4] Originally open-air, work began to add a roof to the baths in 1884 and took eight years to complete. The newly roofed and refurbished facilities were officially re-opened by in 1896 by Lady Windsor.[5]
After the Empire Pool was opened in 1958, the Guildford Crescent Baths were given over exclusively for use by children.[5]
The baths finally closed on 31 March 1984, despite a campaign to keep them open, which had gathered more than 10,000 signatures.[5] The building was demolished in 1985[6] and, in the 2000s, an Ibis hotel was built on the site.
References[edit]
- ^ "Corporation Baths, Guildford Crescent, Cardiff (415047)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ Simon Graham Allen (September 1998), The Provision of Public Baths and Wash Houses in Cardiff and Their Effect on Public Health and Hygiene 1846-1901 (Masters dissertation), School of Graduate and Continuing Education, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, p. 62 – via Bathsandwashhouses.co.uk
- ^ Lewis, Ffion (12 June 2021). "Cardiff's canal quarter - how it looked in the past, what's there now and the exciting future". Wales Online.
- ^ B. W. Row, F. G. Squire (1974), Cardiff 1889-1974 - The Story of the County Borough, The Corporation of Cardiff, City Hall, Cardiff, p. 21
- ^ a b c Thomas Deacon (28 January 2019). "How campaigners first fought to save Cardiff's Guildford Crescent in the 1980s". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ Dan O'Neill (13 March 2007). "Memories of all the happy days at Guildford Crescent Baars". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
External links[edit]
- "Guildford Crescent Baths - Cardiff". YouTube. ITV Cymru/Wales Archive @ National Library of Wales. – Television news report shot in the baths, about the decision to close them