MOSELEY ROAD BATHS
Old Photograph of Moseley Road Baths
take the tour of the listed swimming pool and possible restoration

Moseley Road Baths, in the Balsall Heath district of south Birmingham, is a building of national importance.

Opened in 1907, it is the oldest of only three Grade II* Listed swimming baths currently operating in Britain. Remarkably for a building now into its second century, it survives almost intact, still used for its primary purpose and with very few alterations to the original layout. As such Moseley Road Baths contains many of its original features, fixtures and fittings.

One of Birmingham's finest and most treasured buildings, it contains several rare or unique features. read more


Moseley Road Baths opened on October 30th 1907 at a cost of £32,924. It is the oldest of only three Grade II* Listed swimming baths currently operating in Britain (those at the privately-owned RAC Club in London and The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace being the other two). Moseley Road is a window on a lifestyle that was common to millions of Britons at the turn of the 19th century.

Unquestionably one of Birmingham's finest and most treasured buildings, Moseley Road Baths contains several rare or unique features, including:

  • The only complete set of pre-war private washing, or 'slipper' baths extant in Britain (46 in total), still with the original oak ticket office and attendants' kiosks largely intact.
  • A three-sided spectator gallery and unique balconettes in the Gala (or First Class) Pool as well as the original poolside arched glazed brick dressing boxes.
  • A 98ft long Gothic renaissance red brick and terracotta frontage, lavishly embellished and decorated.
  • Possibly the only surviving steam-heated drying racks in a British swimming baths, sited in the First Floor laundry room.
  • The original 45,000-gallon capacity cast iron cold water storage tank.

Moseley Road Baths - Photo of Small Pool which is still in use in this listed swimming pool Despite this, and Moseley Road Bath's undoubted popularity with swimmers of all ages, the building has suffered from acute neglect over a sustained period of time to the extent that in 2007 it featured on the Victorian Society's list of the ten most endangered buildings in Britain. Currently, only the smaller pool is operational, the Gala Pool and 'slipper' baths having closed for safety reasons in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

Its future is now very much in doubt with calls to transfer ownership from local authority control and convert the building, or at least large parts of it, to uses unconnected with swimming or fitness. The option of a replacement baths in the Balsall Heath district seems unrealistic, for reasons of both finance and a shortage of available land. Yet Moseley Road Baths is a large building, with much unused and vacant space that has the potential to be converted to uses complimentary to the primary purpose of swimming.

We hope you enjoy this virtual tour, produced by the Friends of Moseley Road Baths, and that you will support our campaign to restore, retain and re-open BOTH swimming pools at Moseley Road Baths so that future generations may enjoy this historic public facility just as their predecessors did.

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Telephone: 07806 557 509

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Moseley Road Baths - exsisting ground floor plan
Ground Floor Plan
of Moseley Road Baths

Moseley Road Baths - exsisting first floor plan
First Floor Plan
of Moseley Road Baths
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Pool of memories
You can also visit our other web site Pool Of Memories by clicking on the image