Moseley Road Swimming Baths, Birmingham - February 2015

[Lost Explorer]

Explored this place with KM punk, JuJu, The Lone Ranger, Auntieknickers, H1971, The Stig, Altair, C & Wombat. Was rather challenging and had to pop round quickly in small groups! All good fun

History taken from Auntieknickers' report

Moseley Road Baths were used as a makeshift hospital in the early years of World War II. An additional entrance was created to facilitate this purpose, which was subsequently used as an emergency exit from Pool 2. By the end of 2010 a steel beam used to support the wall and roof above it had become severely corroded, leading to the pool's closure as this part of the building was in danger of collapse.

The baths, also run by Birmingham City Council, reopened following extensive structural work during 2005. They stand opposite the College of Art and were given Grade II listed status as a single entity in 1982, upgraded to Grade II* listed status in 2004 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

In November 2006 a 'Friends of Moseley Road Baths' group was formed to campaign for the long-term future of the building as a fully functioning swimming facility. Since their formation various community events and fundraisers have been held, including the Centenary celebration on 30 October 2007 which was attended by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and swimmers past and present. In 2010 the Friends' were awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund 'Your Heritage' grant of £48,000 to document the building's history and to interview former and current users of the building. Some aspects of the project are now online.

The building reopened in April 2012 after 16 months of structural work on the Fire Exit of Pool 2, asbestos removal from the basement and extensive cleaning and painting. Pool 2 is currently open for swimming but Pool 1 (also known as the Gala Pool) has been mothballed since September 2003. The Second Class slipper baths were in continual use until October 2004, but have since closed.

Birmingham City Council are submitting a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2012 for £5 million towards essential repairs to the roof and to the Gala Pool. The Council will provide £3 million match funding. This work is 'Phase 1' and will make the building structurally sound. It is hoped that a 'Phase 2' could bring other parts of the building back into public use. As part of the bid, Birmingham Conservation Trust have been commissioned to conduct an extensive consultation exercise with the public. This includes generating ideas for community outreach work which will celebrate the heritage of the building.

You can catch the rest of the photos here

 

[krela]

What a beauty! Nicely done.

 

[Big C]

Indeed, what a stunner.. Thank you.

 

[brickworx]

Wow, that is stunning...love it.

 

[DirtyJigsaw]

Nice shots. Somewhere id like to see.

 

[machtoaber]

Love this - still in pretty good nick !

'SPITTING IS UNHYGIENIC' sign in shower rooms made me laugh (Flickr)

 

[flyboys90]

Beautiful building and nice to see it intact.

 

[Urbexbandoned]

I love the look of this place, nicely shot

 

[The Wombat]

Nicely shot mate. Pleasure to go exploring with you again

 

[UrbanX]

What a lovely place! Surprised not to see people wandering into every shot with 9 of you in there!
Thanks for sharing

 

[DarkMagpie91]

I'm a bit annoyed. I saw this post and decided to drive and go and check it out. Turns out it's not abandoned because I arrived and the front door was open, first alarm bell rang in my head because something wasn't right. I then walked around and was greeted by a staff member saying they were closed.

I'm not quite sure if there was a certain time to go there but I arrived at 10am and just drove for an hour and a half to get there so when I was turned away I was more than unhappy. Not sure what i'm doing wrong but how can it be put up on a derelict building website when it's not derelict?

 

[krela]

It looks pretty derelict to me. Just because something is posted on here doesn't mean there's not people there, that it's not in use, being restored, or has good security, etc. I suspect people do more research than just rock up and hope. Sometimes people will drive for 2+ hours to get somewhere and fail quite a few times before they finally succeed. You can't just turn up wherever you fancy whenever you want and expect to get in every time.

 

[smiler]

It looks pretty derelict to me. Just because something is posted on here doesn't mean there's not people there, that it's not in use, being restored, or has good security, etc. I suspect people do more research than just rock up and hope. Sometimes people will drive for 2+ hours to get somewhere and fail quite a few times before they finally succeed. You can't just turn up wherever you fancy whenever you want and expect to get in every time.

I've got to agree with krela Mags, it happens sometimes when you take off without checking out something you've heard/read about, bin there done that, the last time it happened to me was when I read in the local paper that a nearby Convent had closed and the nuns had moved to a smaller property, I was around there like a bat out of buggery and was busy photographing the overgrown orchard when a tap on my shoulder scared the crap out of me, I spun around to find a sweet little old nun looking at me and asking if she could help me, I explained that my dog had run off and got out quick, all part of fun, we learn from our mistakes.
Stay Safe.

 

[The Wombat]

I'm a bit annoyed. I saw this post and decided to drive and go and check it out. Turns out it's not abandoned because I arrived and the front door was open, first alarm bell rang in my head because something wasn't right. I then walked around and was greeted by a staff member saying they were closed.

I'm not quite sure if there was a certain time to go there but I arrived at 10am and just drove for an hour and a half to get there so when I was turned away I was more than unhappy. Not sure what i'm doing wrong but how can it be put up on a derelict building website when it's not derelict?

This place is not as black and white as open / derelict.
Don't get too dismayed by fails; they happen to all of us. Keep at it.

It's a cracking place; I'll get my photos up soon

 

[Lost Explorer]

Thanks for the comments guys! Just realised they are a bit dark, the screen on my PC is really bright!

I'm a bit annoyed. I saw this post and decided to drive and go and check it out. Turns out it's not abandoned because I arrived and the front door was open, first alarm bell rang in my head because something wasn't right. I then walked around and was greeted by a staff member saying they were closed.

I'm not quite sure if there was a certain time to go there but I arrived at 10am and just drove for an hour and a half to get there so when I was turned away I was more than unhappy. Not sure what i'm doing wrong but how can it be put up on a derelict building website when it's not derelict?

A small part of the building is still in use, but much of it is derelict. Unfortunately as others have said these things happen!

If you're still interested I believe they are having some open days soon