The following text is copyright John Amess and was Chapter 13 of the book 'Aspects of Stevenage 1700-1945' first published in the United Kingdom 2001, by Stevenage Museum ISBN 0 948754 02 8. Used with permission.
The Bath House by John Amess
The small rectangular premises built in Church Lane in 1835 and now known as the Bath House, was originally used to house the town's firefighting appliances.
An entry in the minutes of the Stevenage Vestry meeting held on 23rd April 1764 indicates that the town had acquired a firefighting appliance at some earlier date. At the meeting the Vestry ordered that the 'fire engine' should be tested three times a year and that 25s per annum be allocated to keep the engine in good order. What is not known is where the 'fire engine' was kept at that time.
In 1807 the town suffered a major fire which swept along the north-east half of the High Street destroying in the order of 40 dwellings and numerous other premises together with a large quantity of goods.[1] The town had barely recovered from this fire when in 1829 a second disastrous fire destroyed property along the south-east side of the High Street.[2] Together these two fires destroyed most of the fine old timber-frame buildings that once bordered the east side of Stevenage High Street.
Although the 'fire engine' mentioned above was undoubtedly used at the 1807 and 1829 fires, it would have been too small to have been of much use. These two fires prompted the town to re-assess its firefighting capability and in 1831 the Vestry bought a new 'carriage' engine plus various accessories for 115 pounds.[3] The new engine was horse-drawn and although still manually operated (by approximately eighteen men) was undoubtedly more powerful and of greater value as a firefighting appliance than the old engine. However it was also much larger than the old engine and the Vestry was obliged to seek different storage accommodation. Whilst the Vestry agreed to pay for the storage they expressed a preference for use of existing premises and were careful to instruct the Parish Officer not to consider constructing a new building. The search for suitable accommodation was unsuccessful however and the Vestry was obliged to seek estimates for building a purpose-built engine house.[4] In November 1835 the Vestry accepted the estimate of Sam Muncey and Robert Toll for the construction of a building 19ft x 16ft x 8.5ft high, for the sum of 45 9s 0d.[4]
The new engine house was built attached to the southern end of the almshouses in Back Lane (now known as Church Lane) and was undoubtedly a valuable addition to the town's firefighting service. The two engines - the one bought in the early 1700s and the one in 1831 - could now be housed in a central building. A Hertfordshire town directory published in 1854 by Craven & Co. notes that at that time the engine house key was held by Jane Smith of Back Lane. (What happened if a fire occurred when Jane was out shopping is not recorded.)
In 1883 responsibility for government of the town passed from the Vestry to a Local Board who took further steps to improve the town's firefighting service by calling for volunteers to form a regular fire brigade.[5] With twelve men and a Captain selected from the volunteers, the Stevenage Volunteer Fire Brigade began training in January 1884 and rapidly became a much-respected service.[6]
The sketch depicting the engine house as it appeared in the late 1890s is based on two photographs which show the brigade assembled in front of the building. The land on which the engine house was built was (and still is) owned by a charitable trust. An item in the 1909 minutes of the Stevenage Urban District Council (SUDC), which replaced the Local Board in 1894, shows that the trustees of the charity granted the Council a 21-year lease on the land for an annual rent of 3 pounds.[8]
By 1910 there was growing pressure on the Council to buy a modern horse-drawn steam-powered fire engine[9] and following trials of various engines the Council opted to buy a 'steamer' manufactured by the Shand Mason Co. As the smoke-stack of the new engine was too tall to allow it to be stored in the existing engine house it was decided to go ahead with previously made plans to build a new modern fire station.[10]
With the completion of the new fire station (which was built on the corner of Basils Road) in 1912, the old engine house became redundant and the proposal was made that the building should be converted into a public bath house. At a Council meeting held in July there was however considerable discussion on 'the bath question'. Some members felt that there were more important issues to be considered and some wondered if the Council could afford the 100 pounds the conversion would cost. But a vote carried the proposal.[11]
By September a Baths Committee had been formed and had accepted estimates for converting the old engine house by fitting four baths plus a geyser and connecting the building to the gas main, for a total cost of 95 6s 0d. The Baths Committee also proposed that an attendant be employed for 5s per week, that a charge of 3d be made for a bath and, if required, 1d for the hire of a towel. Three months later conversion of the building into a bath house was complete and the following report appeared in the Hertfordshire Express dated January 11th 1913:
'...it is quite in order to say that the use now made of the building will be a healthy acquisition to the urban district. There are four private apartments or cubicles, containing a cast-iron bath (porcelain enamelled). Each of these is capable of giving a bath practically immediately, the hot-water connection providing its supply almost as soon as the gas of the central geyser is lit and turned on. Each occupant of a bath has the command of as much cold water as he requires and there is also a waste pipe to each bath, but for added safety the supply of hot water remains outside of the cubicle in the command of the attendant - a very good arrangement. Each compartment is provided with a glass, brush, combs, soap, hat and clothes racks, seats, bath floor board and other conveniences, and towels may be brought or obtained from the attendant from the towel cupboards. The whole of the hot-water connection to all the baths is heated with one of Messrs. Ewart and Son's 'Califont' geysers, and the attendant's compartment contains a stove. Each door to the baths shows the usual vacant or engaged signal and the whole are lit by gas as well as some serviceable roof skylights. The whole of the building is beautifully clean and up to-date, and will no doubt reflect credit to the present members of the Urban District Council and their surveyor, who has taken much interest in making the building as useful as possible to the inhabitants. The baths are to be publicly opened on Sunday morning next. The hours will be 8 to 10am on Sundays; 2 to 7pm Wednesdays; 1 to 4 and 5 to 7 Saturdays.'
The opening times undoubtedly reflected the hours worked by likely users of the baths - the town's early closing day was Wednesday and few people worked Saturday afternoon or Sunday. It is also likely that the conversion at this time included closing permanently the two large entrance doors that had been necessary when the building was an engine house and incorporating a smaller entrance door instead. Initially there was some doubt regarding allowing women use of the baths and the Baths Committee was asked to consider the advisability of setting aside one day a week for women.[12]
In May 1913 the Council appointed Frank Hide as Bath House attendant for a wage of 7s 6d per week which included payment for washing the towels and for his wife Mrs Hide to act as attendant during the times when the Bath House was open to ladies.[13]
It became necessary to close the Bath House for a short time in 1920 in order to replace the geyser which had been in service since 1913. The temporary closure of the facility was obviously a great inconvenience to some townsfolk as shown by their impatience for its reopening. At the Council meeting held in May it was noted that the local branch of the Sailors' and Soldiers' Federation had sent the Council a letter expressing their concern at the delay.[14]
During the Second World War, when there was an increase in military personnel billeted in, or passing through the town, the Council agreed to allow the baths to be used by service personnel at a charge of 4d per bath.[15] In 1947 the SUDC Water & Public Health Committee estimate for the cost of running the Bath House (which incidentally was referred to as the Slipper Baths at this time) during the coming financial year was given as:
- Rent 3 pounds
- Rates and Insurance 4 pounds
- Wages 35 pounds
- Heating and Lighting 15 pounds
- Sundries and Repairs 50 pounds
- Total 107 pounds
The expected income from use of the baths was just 20 pounds.
Probably the last time the Bath House was closed for major maintenance work was in 1947 when a new water heating system was installed.[16] John Winters, a gas fitter working for the Tottenham & District Gas Co., recalls that it was during this closure that the old fashioned Ewart's Califont geyser (an instantaneous water heating system) was replaced by a modern hot-water storage system. John recalls fitting the new system, which comprised an Empire No.2 Boiler, a 60-gallon storage tank and a small cold water tank. John also recalls that the frames supporting the two water tanks had been fabricated at the gas works yard in Hitchin.[17,18]
Mrs Marguerita Marilyn (Daisy) Smith became the Bath House attendant in the 1930s and remained the attendant until the building closed. Mrs Smith's son recalls that during the time his mother was the attendant the baths were open Wednesday evenings from 6.30pm to 8pm and Sunday mornings from 8.30am until lunch time. He also recalls that his mother was required to light the boiler and ensure that the water was hot in time for the bath house to open. She also supplied towels for use by customers who did not bring their own and, like Mrs Hide before her, took them home to launder.[19]
As modern baths and showers were installed in the older property within the town so the need for the Bath House grew less and eventually unnecessary, and it was finally closed in the late 1950s.[20]
Today the Bath House and its interior fittings remain preserved just as they were left when the bath house closed. Apart from the building itself and the large doors, nothing remains of the old engine house. The interior fittings installed when the building was converted into a bath house can be seen to have changed little from the newspaper description given in 1913. The floor is seen to comprise grey/black bricks, which have deep criss-cross grooves to allow the rapid drainage of surface water. The internal walls and doors separating the cubicles are made of wood and painted green. Each cubicle is provided with four clothes hooks mounted on the partition walls, a wooden 'duckboard' on which the bathers can stand, and, mounted on the rear wall, a small wood framed mirror, a wood plank seat and a small wood shelf. Two gas lamps provided illumination within the building and a small cast-iron stove provided heating. The lower halves of the internal walls are also painted green with the upper half cream.
Notes
[1] The Gentleman's Magazine pub. 1807
[2] E.V. Methold; Notes on Stevenage (Gibbs & Bamford, St Albans, 1902)
[3] Stevenage Vestry records for 1831
[4] Stevenage Vestry records for 1835
[5] The Hertfordshire Express newspaper pub. Dec. 1883
[6] The Hertfordshire Express newspaper pub. Jan. 1884
[7] Stevenage Museum photograph collection Refs P12667 and P12655
[8] Stevenage Urban District Council (SUDC) records for 1909
[9] SUDC records for 1910
[10] SUDC records for 1911
[11] SUDC records for 1912
[12] The Hertfordshire Express newspaper pub. Sept.1912
[13] SUDC records for 1913
[14] The Hertfordshire Express newspaper pub. May 1920
[15] The Hertfordshire Express newspaper pub. June 1940
[16] SUDC records for Feb 1947
[17] A letter written by John Winters and held in Stevenage Museum
[18] Notes made by the author during an interview with John Winters in 1999
[19] Notes made by Sally Ackroyd during an interview with Mr & Mrs J. Smith, held at Stevenage Museum.
[20] Mention of the Bath House had disappeared from the SUDC records by 1957.
The document below is the final Hirst Conservation Conservators Report and includes pictures of the Bath House before and after its renovation and conservation in 2008.
Hirst_Conservation_Final_Conservation_Report_Dec08.pdf
Bath_House_Mini_Leaflet.pdf
THE HELLARD ALMSHOUSES HISTORY