Join us during Birmingham Heritage Week and Heritage Open Days this year for an exciting programme of activity.

Beryl of the Baths; interactive storytelling for families with young children

Friday 8 September, 1-2pm

Time travel with Beryl through the history of Stirchley Baths in this fun, interactive and lively storytelling session designed for children between 3 and 6 years of age and their families. Discover together daily life and events at the former wash house and swimming pool from the early 20th century to the present day.Stirchley Baths is a Grade II listed former Edwardian swimming baths which opened in 1911, and closed in 1988. After over 25 years standing empty, the building was refurbished with some of its original features restored, and re-opened in January 2016 as a community hub.

Children under the age of 3 or over the age of 6 are welcome as part of a family group, although the session is designed for children aged between 3-6 years old.

Tunnel Trips and The Big Stirchley Baths Stitch!

Sunday 10 September, 11am-4pm

Explore Stirchley Baths, a Grade II listed former Edwardian swimming pool and wash house, opened 1911, closed 1988 and reopened in 2016 after an award-winning conservation project. Our special ‘hard hat’ tunnel tours will take visitors into the pool’s deep end and original well; sign up for these tours on the day, and please wear sensible shoes (clothes are likely to get a little bit dusty too!). Take part in a creative workshop with tapestry needlepoint artist Tina Francis as part of our Big Stirchley Baths Stitch project and contribute to a new artwork, recreating a tropical poolside mural from the 1980s. Building trails and arts activities for the whole family. Learn about local history with Stirchley History Group. Watch animated movies on the history of the Baths. Organic vegetarian cafe open.

 

Access

The building is accessible for wheelchairs, but no access for wheelchairs on the balcony or in the tunnels

Additional information

Max 10 people per tour/session. Tunnel tours will happen on the half hour. Tickets available on the day. These are hard hat tours, and accessible by a steep ladder. Not suitable for under 6s or people with limited mobility. The Big Stitch project is open to everyone aged 3+ – although all children will need supervision from parent/carer. No need to book; take part on the day.

Heritage Weekend Wind Down at Stirchley Baths

Sunday 10 September, from 5pm – 6pm start.

At the end of a busy weekend exploring the wonderful history of Birmingham, join us to wind down and enjoy a bit more history over a drink and homemade pizza at the iconic Stirchley Baths. Think a pub quiz event, but without the pub! Why not put a team together (max 6 per team) and test your knowledge of Birmingham’s heritage over ten rounds of questions. Warning: The quiz will include a couple of rounds on Stirchley Baths and Stirchley local history, so arrive early (from 1700) to soak up as much knowledge as you can! All ages welcome. Colouring activities available for younger children. Fresh pre-ordered homemade pizza from ChangeKitchen CIC delivered to your table during the event, or bring your own snacks. Please feel free to bring your own drinks/alcoholic beverages. Hot and soft drinks are also available to buy from the café.

Please pre-book teams of no more than 6 people for the quiz. We will contact you to see if you want to order a pizza for your table before the event (buying food is optional)

Call: 0121 464 9072
Email: hello@stirchleybaths.org

We are looking for young people to take part in our ‘set design challenge’ who are: aged 11+,  love being creative, love design, like a challenge, love the wonders of space and star constellations, like working in small teams and love being hands on!

 

In October Stirchley Baths will host the annual Fun Palace event – where everyone is an artist and everyone is a scientist! This year the theme is SPACE and we want to decorate the length of the Main Hall (18m x 2.4m) with a solar system designed and created by young people on big black boards – a set design that is OUT OF THIS WORLD! Your blank canvas on the right!

 

The session is £5 per young person/per session. You can book into either or both sessions on a first come first served basis. Young people are welcome to stay on after lunch to take part in our Big Stirchley Baths Stitch Project (2nd and 16th August), or origami workshop (2nd August). Please note, these are public events. You will be able to pick them up any time before 4pm.

You must pre-book this activity. Please download this Registration Form and send to to suzanne@suzannecarter.co.uk  But might be worth texting Suzanne on 07793 075737 to check there are spaces available. There are copies of the form also at reception.

There are only 12 places available per session for young people aged 11+.

With less than a month to go before the end of term, some of you may already be looking for activities during the school holidays.

We have family events programmed on three days and also hope to launch a new fun activity bag which can be used at other times (more details another day…)

Just to let you know; the Baths will be closed for its usual two weeks from Monday 21 until Monday 4 September.

Hope to see you over the summer…

Our young volunteers Ethan, Harvey and Bryan are doing their Duke of Edinburgh bronze award with us. They asked if they could run a non-stop bingo event for older people in the community, and this is what they will be doing on Thursday 6 July! Please do tell your friends and neighbours. It is a free event especially targeted at the ‘young at heart’ and for the over 50s – a kid-free zone! Small prizes.

Refreshments provided. More details below on Harvey’s poster!

If you swam at Stirchley Baths in the late 1980s you may well remember there was a tropical mural at the deep end of the pool, painted by the Assistant Manager, Paul Jones, to hide the scaffold which was supporting the eroding balcony. It brought warmth and light to all those who used the public baths.

The design of palm trees, golden beaches and a sail boat reflected in blue waters under a sun-filled sky must have cheered the swimmers no end.

This mural was the last piece of public art in the baths. It is now going to be re-created as a permanent piece of artwork – mounted in the Co-working space next to the public café – and a celebration for the venue’s future. Community is at the heart Stirchley Baths and so it is fitting that the new mural is created by and for those who will continue to use the venue for years to come.

Working with tapestry needle-point artist Tina Francis, during this 8-month project we want to involve as many of our local communities as possible; users of the building, families, schools, young people and visitors to events. We will also set up a monthly stitch group.

What will the artwork look like?

Our community stitch project will replicate the design of the tropical mural using stitch/tapestry.

The body of the work will be plastic canvas as it is really easy to stitch into whether you are of pre-school age or a much older person. We want as many age groups and abilities to be involved as possible. Rather than a flat scene we will bring the mural to life with 3D elements which will also be stitched onto the canvas with the addition of knit.

Get Involved!

There will be opportunities to get involved until December/January next year. The giant canvas will be cut into smaller areas so that lots of people can contribute; it will then be stitched together at the end. We want to document everyone who has taken part, and if you are willing, a Polaroid snap of you will be added to the wall by the mural as part of this special Stirchley Baths community artwork.

Our initial dates are on the poster below – so pop them in your diary and pop down to the Baths for one or more of Tina’s drop-in stitch sessions.