Fore Street Swimming Pool (formerly known as Fore Street Baths) is a swimming venue in Ipswich that opened on 4 March 1894.
| Fore Street Swimming Pool | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Location | Fore St, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1JZ |
| Opened | 4 March 1894 |
| Length | 27 yards (24.69m) |
| Width | 7 yards (6.4m) |
Design, construction and funding
editIt was designed by Ipswich born architect Thomas Cotmen and built by local philanthropist and builder[1][2] T. Parkington & Sons Builders.[3] Inside the Victorian stone facade, brick building and slate and glass roof the pool measuring 25x7 yards with 5 lanes (originally 6) and had a number of communal baths.[4][5] There were wooden changing cubicles with stairs going to a viewing are around the pool.[5] The modern changing cubicles on each side of the pool are now present and a first-floor communal changing area where the old boiler used to be located.The build was funded by the Corporation of Ipswich[6] (to a sum of £3100[7]) along with a donation of the land plus £1200 from Felix Thornley Cobbold.[1] It was originally opened by Ipswich Mayor Samuel Richard Anness.
Background
editThe poorly built homes for the families of hundreds of workers at the expanding Ipswich engineering companies[8] had no bathrooms, or in many cases running water. The Baths and Washhouses Act 1846 was created to encourage the construction of indoor pools and Fore Street Baths was one of 600 built between 1880 and1914 in Britain.[4][9]
Restoration and current use
editFore Street Swimming Pool was fully refurbished in 2001 and is now used for recreational swimming, swimming lessons, Octopush scuba diving, snorkelling and life support lessons.[10]
Status
editFore Street Swimming Pool is the second oldest operating pool in England.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Borin Van Loon: Ipswich Historic Lettering: Fore Street Baths". www.ipswich-lettering.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Thomas Parkington 1866-1942". Flatford and Constable. 2020-05-03. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Fore Street Swimming Baths, Ipswich, Suffolk | Educational Images | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ a b "Fore Street Baths » The Ipswich Society". www.ipswichsociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ a b "IpswicGov's X page showing photos of then and now Fore Street Baths".
- ^ a b "Angel Lane » The Ipswich Society". www.ipswichsociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Kindred Spirits: Did you learn to swim at Fore Street Baths in Ipswich?". East Anglian Daily Times. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Days Gone By: Memories of Fore Street swimming pool in Ipswich". East Anglian Daily Times. 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "UK Parliament - Baths and Washhouses".
- ^ "Overview - Fore Street Pool - Ipswich - NHS". www.nhs.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
