Bath House (Amenity Block) At Thomas Broadbent And Sons Ltd

This bath house was built in 1955 for the foundry company Thomas Broadbent & Sons in Huddersfield. The architects were Abbey Hanson (with Andrew Buck as designing architect and Geoffrey Rowe as project leader), and the construction was undertaken by Law Stead & Sons Ltd.

Construction and Materials

The building is constructed of coursed and finely cut stone of varying widths and finishes. In some parts the stonework appears in narrow diminishing courses, while elsewhere rough-cut block stone is used. All window ranges are set within ashlar panels. The building features iron railings and an iron external staircase.

Layout

The plan consists of a series of interlocking rectangles designed to facilitate a through-flow from dirty to clean areas. At the front, a central washroom is flanked by lavatories and entrances on either side. Behind lies a large shower area with dirty lockers to the right and clean lockers to the left. The right-hand entrance leads to the washroom and dirty lockers, while the left-hand entrance provides access to the clean locker area, maintaining the one-way circulation from dirty to clean. Below is a basement level containing the boiler room and storage areas. Above, the flat roof accommodates a sun terrace with a small enclosed room and a tank room.

Exterior

The main east elevation is dominated by an off-centre tower element housing the water tank. This tower features full-height, timber-framed opaque glazed panels with strong vertical lines. It projects forward from the main frontage and is crowned by a timber-fronted flat roof that extends beyond the tower face.

To the right of the tower is a lower section with five small windows set high in the wall. A double-doored entrance is approached via a short flight of steps set behind a stone parapet and iron railings running parallel to the building. The doors are fitted with rounded metal handles. Beyond the entrance is a further short stretch of wall, and the entire section is topped by a projecting flat roof. Above this roof sits a low stone wall, set back, which protects the sun terrace.

To the left of the tower stands a narrow block containing a single window and the second entrance, which faces to the side. An iron cantilever staircase rises from the left and provides access to the sun terrace. A rear block extends from behind this staircase.

Along the front of the building runs a low stone wall with iron railings. These conceal a sloping ramp descending to the basement, with an entrance beneath the stairs to the right.

The left return elevation features, on its left side, a block with four high-set windows fitted with opaque glass in timber frames. The stonework is widely coursed at the base, narrow coursed in the main section, and very finely coursed at the parapet level. The parapet includes a small section of iron railings at the left end. To the right is the side of the water tower, set back. A double-doored entrance with original handles is set into the left side of the tower, while to the right the iron staircase ascends to the roof. This staircase has a double dog-leg configuration: it crosses the side of the tower, extends outward from it, and then turns again to the left at the bottom where stone steps are masked by a stone wall and iron railings. At the upper level is an entrance to the water tower with a projecting canopy above.

The right return is largely plain, with stonework in diminishing courses and three high windows. The rear elevation, which faces the street, also features a series of high windows along its length.

Sun Terrace

The external staircase leads to the sun terrace on the roof. Attached to the side of the water tower at the front is a small enclosed room fitted with wooden slat bench seating around three sides. This room has doors opening to the south and windows on three sides. Running north from this room is a low rendered wall extending for most of the length of the building. This wall carries steel columns that support a canopy. The canopy's opposite edge is supported by steel columns rising from the terrace floor, and it is timber-lined. A low brick wall runs around the perimeter of the terrace, and the floor surface is tarmac.

Interior

The internal doors are original, most featuring glazed panels and some retaining their original push-pull handles. Some original light switches survive, though they are no longer in use. Throughout the building, the floor consists of original buff and black tiles arranged in an abstract pattern, and the walls are largely covered in plain buff tiles. Original plans confirm that the internal layout remains unchanged.

The doors on the main façade open into a lobby area containing an original ceramic drinking fountain. To the right is the staff toilet with lockers and showers fitted with original fixtures. A storage cupboard also leads off the lobby.

To the left is the main washroom, which contains original footbaths and communal washbasins with foot-operated taps. Only the original hand dryers have been removed. Original ceiling light fittings survive alongside modern strip lights, and there are two light wells in the ceiling.

Double doors from the lobby lead to the rear and the dirty locker room, which contains rows of original steel lockers. Behind the washroom, and accessible from either the washroom or the dirty locker room, is the shower room with rows of shower cubicles along each side. The shower fittings are original, and the ceiling contains exposed ducting from the original warm air heating system. Windows to the rear are boarded up.

To the left of the shower room is the clean locker room, slightly larger than the dirty locker room and also containing original lockers. Doors from the clean locker room lead to the lavatories, which retain the original urinal and water closets, and to the exit lobby. This lobby has doors opening to the side entrance beneath the stair to the terrace. Adjacent to the lobby is a storage area labelled as the Attendant's Room on the original plan.

History

The baths opened on 15 July 1955, following the granting of planning permission in April 1954. The local newspaper, the Huddersfield Examiner, carried an article on the opening describing the new amenity block as having "the most up to date washing facilities - complete even to plugs for electric razors...Each foundry worker is provided with two lockers, for his outdoor clothes and for his working clothes, and through them warm air is circulated to keep the clothes dry, thus avoiding the possibility of colds being caught after taking showers". The article described the layout and facilities in detail under the heading "So Optimistic - They've even built a sun lounge!".

The builders, Law Stead & Sons, had been involved in the design and construction of local mills and public buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and houses in the 20th century. Peter Stead became a director of the firm in 1947 and was involved in the construction of Farnley Hey (listed Grade II) by Peter Wormersley. He later became an academic, opened an art gallery, and was a pioneer of Huddersfield Civic Society.

The architect Andrew Buck designed supermarkets, other public buildings, and houses in the region. Geoffrey Rowe was a senior partner in the firm of Abbey & Hanson, served twice as Vice President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, was president of the West Yorkshire Society of Architects, and was a visiting professor at Clemson University, South Carolina, in 1974.

The firm of Thomas Broadbent & Sons was founded in 1864 as an engineering firm serving the local textile industry. It built a range of products including steam engines, cars, and travelling cranes. The company later specialised in centrifuges, which it continues to manufacture. During World War II, the firm also built submarines.

Significance

This building is a very rare, possibly unique, example of a purpose-built bath house for foundry workers. Its continuing function as a bath house has preserved its original purpose in both layout and fixtures and fittings, as well as its design. The design manifests inspiration from both Willem Dudok and Frank Lloyd Wright, achieving a high standard of accomplishment in its interpretation of contemporary architectural influences. The use of local stone for external walls distinguishes it from brick-built pithead baths of similar style, and the imaginative use of varying finishes lends further distinction. The interior survives almost entirely intact, with original washbasins, shower and tap fittings, lockers, floor and wall surfaces, doors, and light fittings.