VB collects and collates the history of VB, Baths and Wash-houses of Manchester and the history of swimming and Turkish Baths in general.
As part of the restoration efforts, a collection of items of historical significance to the Baths has been compiled. Recently, this purpose has been broadened to accept items relating to other baths, and also the history of swimming in general.
Some items contained in our archive were found within the Baths upon its closure in 1993, some even rescued from skips, history that would have otherwise been lost.
Minute Book of South Manchester Swimming Club found abandoned in the pool after closure
A larger proportion is made up of donations or loans from the public, whose experiences at the Baths are invaluable to us in building upon our existing social picture, not only of the Baths but also of the Baths and Wash-houses of Manchester, and the history of swimming and Turkish Baths in general.
The aim of our archive is to continue to collate our history and make it accessible to the visiting public. We want to care and prolong the longevity of every item in our archive so that it remains accessible for many more years to come.
This blog will showcase some of these archive items from time to time.
Mixed bathing in First Class pool, c1925 from Manchester Archives, Manchester Central Library
The diving board and water chute were taken out later for health and safety reasons – the deep end is only 6 feet deep. This did not stop some naughty people diving in off the balcony!
This photograph is in the females pool at Victoria Baths. I was interested to see the stained glass windows at the back of this picture, as I am involved in the Stained Glass Workshop (I’ll start a new page on this later) and I might end up making some new windows for the entrance doors for another of the pools. All the stained glass in the entrance doors to the three pools are missing, so we need to find pictures of what they used to be like.
Another interesting feature in this picture is the circular window above the forth woman from the left in the back row. This window has been replaced recently with a new one commemorating Sunny Lowry, a notable swimmer associated with VB. I think the original window had gone. I might put a picture of the new window on the blog some time.
