A traditional Victorian establishment
The North Road baths under construction in 1895
Image reproduced with permission from Brighton History Centre
Long since demolished and replaced by a more modern swimming centre, North Road Baths was a traditional Victorian establishment (run by the Corporation), accessed from North Road through an archway. The swimming bath itself was unremarkable, being white-tiled, but it had single white wooden changing cabins on at least two sides (probably on three, possibly on four). Unlike the King Alfred Baths in Hove, which were comparatively modern, airy and filled with sea-water, this was filled with fresh water. My father chose it, and an ex-Royal Navy instructor, for my swimming lessons when I was about nine – the instructor gave up eventually!
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I was born and grew up in Brighton in the 1940s-1950s and spent my youth in North Road swimming baths. The changing rooms were on two sides only (not three or four). One side for girls, the other side for boys.
My great grandfather (George Pope) was the manager of the baths when they were built and lived with his family there according to the 1891 census. My grandmother (Florence) taught swimming there (early 1900s) prior to her marriage and emigration to Australia.
So well remember these baths, used to go there in the 40s and 50s tried to learn to swim but eventually did so in the sea after the war. Also re changing cubicles I seem to remember they had a bottom half wooden door and a curtain across the top half. I think the boys were on the right as you looked towards the deep end and yes, the girls across the pool.
I’m sure I’ve written a comment on here before about spending lots of time here. But why is there a gap of five years between the first two comments?
Editor’s note: Sometimes there a very large gaps between comments on pages. In fact, some pages never get any comments at all. We do have over 10,800 pages so maybe that isn’t such a surprise. If you want to keep track of any comment you have posted, add the particular page to your internet browser bookmarks and then you can keep track very easily. Any other questions, email me at jennifer@mybrightonandhove.org.uk
Me and my brothers and sister used this swimming pool in the 70s every Saturday morning after Saturday morning pictures. We loved it there, the boys changing rooms were on the right and girls on the left and in the middle of the cubicles you had a changing room. Used to love the hot chocolate out of the drinks machine or mushroom soup out of the other machine.
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