Stirchley Community School lends me their School Council!

Last week I met with the School Council – made up of 8 very bright pupils from years 3-6 attending Stirchley Community School. We talked about the Baths, looked at photographs and they came up with a list of questions they would ask a history expert if they met one (luckily I knew most the answers!)

They would want to ask:

  • How many people visited the Baths?
  • Why did it close?
  • When it was built?
  • How many baths were there?
  • What happens if the floor boards broke if people were dancing on them?
  • Were Germans allowed to visit the Baths during WWII?

They all agreed that seeing the building in its current state is a waste of a building and they  thought it was important to restore it. If they went on a school visit they would like to learn some old fashioned dances, be ‘history detectives’ around the building and see an old bath tub!  What a great 15 minute session!

Thank you to headteacher Mr Clifford for arranging my meeting with the School Council. He is very keen that the school and the Baths work in partnership in the future – including the new school film club and radio station reporting on the Baths project during its restoration period.

 

Are you ready to put your hand up too?

Such a great afternoon and evening at Stirchley Community Market today – we gathered 75 hands which include ideas about history and heritage-related activity they would like to see at the Baths as part of a Heritage Lottery funded programme, statements of support for the funding application and some lovely memories.

A few local people below who have contributed their hands already!

Put your hands up if you support the HLF application!

This means, we now have enough hands to stretch thumb to finger around about a third of the Baths as we begin our community art challenge this Saturday. Phew!

If you are one of the lovely people we spoke to above – then thank you! If you haven’t had the chance to contribute a hand, idea, message of support – please pop along to our event at Stirchley Library on Saturday 10.30am-3pm as we try and create a community SHOW OF HANDS around Stirchley Baths – come and help us get enough hands to fill 60m of washing line!!

(I’m sure Stirchley Library staff won’t mind if you drop a hand off before the event if you can’t make it on Saturday!)

Right, best get on with some more laminating!!

Architect Mark Sloane on the plans for Stirchley Baths

Mark Sloane

Mark Sloane from Acivico drew up the plans for the community hub at Stirchley Baths following community consultation and involvement.

The plans (which were approved by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee in March) were a real challenge – how to preserve the building’s historical features while making sure the building is fit for its new purpose in the 21st century?

Mark talks about how the swimming pool – although boarded over for the main hall of the community hub – will still be a central feature, as will lots of other features. For example, the reception kiosk, where people would have paid to swim or to take a bath, will be maintained and restored.

Mark Sloane

As well as conserving the building’s heritage, Mark says the plans also incorporate elements from the original plan for the Baths that were drawn up in the 1900s. A second cupola, much taller than the one that stands at the entrance to the building, was lost at some point in the building’s history, as was a clock. Both will be recreated as part of the community hub project. And both would never have been discovered if it wasn’t for the original, century-old plans (which we hope to get on to the site for you to have a look at very soon).

You can listen to the interview

listen to ‘Architect Mark Sloane on the plans for Stirchley Baths’ on Audioboo


We talked about the new plans for the community centre while looking at hard copies, with Mark giving a guided tour of sorts of what’s planned! Here are the plans we looked at:

Stirchley Baths Site Plan
Stirchley Baths Site Plan
Stirchley Baths Ground Plan
Stirchley Baths Ground Plan

You can also download them as PDFs

Proposed Ground Floor Plan (PDF)
Proposed Site Plan (PDF)

Sandra’s Stirchley Swimming Club memories

Sandra Braker

Sandra Braker started going swimming at Stirchley Baths as a four-year-old. She soon became a member of Stirchley Swimming Club and took part in galas across the West Midlands.

Sandra talks to Jane Baker about her memories of this time and how she hopes the community hub can provide a real use for the building again.

listen to ‘Sandra Braker on Stirchley Swimming Club’ on audioBoom

Were you a member of Stirchley Swimming Club? Let us know about your memories by emailing stirchleybaths@gmail.com or by leaving a comment on the website. We’re also on Twitter and Facebook

Studying Stirchley Baths: Interview with Amy Pond

Amy Pond

Amy Pond is a postgraduate student at Bath Spa University and she is currently working on her dissertation – on Stirchley Baths.

Amy, from Kings Heath, loves old buildings and talks to Jane Baker in this interview about why she’s so interested in Stirchley Baths particularly and her hopes for the building’s future.

listen to ‘Amy Pond on her Stirchley Baths university dissertation’ on Audioboo