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Guildford Crescent Baths

Coordinates: 51°28′47″N 3°10′14″W / 51.4798°N 3.1706°W / 51.4798; -3.1706
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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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 with two hot rooms heated by dry air maintained at 110°F and 140°F,[1] a Mikveh and a gymnasium.[2] 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.[3] The canal was culverted in 1949 and now flows under Churchill Way.[4]

Cardiff Borough Council acquired the baths in 1873.[5] 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.[6]

After the Empire Pool was opened in 1958, the Guildford Crescent Baths were given over exclusively for use by children.[6]

The baths finally closed on 31 March 1984, despite a campaign to keep them open, which had gathered more than 10,000 signatures.[6] The building was demolished in 1985[7] and, in the 2000s, an Ibis hotel was built on the site.

References

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  1. ^ 'A visit to the Turkish baths'. Star of Gwent. (31 May 1862) p.8
  2. ^ "Corporation Baths, Guildford Crescent, Cardiff (415047)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Dan O'Neill (13 March 2007). "Memories of all the happy days at Guildford Crescent Baars". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
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51°28′47″N 3°10′14″W / 51.4798°N 3.1706°W / 51.4798; -3.1706