Bristol South Baths And Attached Railings And Gates

Bristol South Baths and Attached Railings and Gates

This is a two-storey swimming bath building constructed in brown brick with limestone dressings and a green glazed pantile hipped roof, built in a neo-Roman style. The interior areas are finished with stone and ceramic tiling.

The building is symmetrically planned around a central swimming pool range, with single-storey ranges flanking both sides and service blocks attached to the rear. The principal front faces north-east across the park, accessed by central steps leading up to a single-storey parapeted lobby. This lobby features a glazed lantern rooflight and a wide doorway with four-panelled doors set within an ashlar surround. The building name, Bristol South Baths, is inscribed in the lintel alongside a relief of spread wings. Windows throughout the building have steel casements with margin panes and diagonal glazing bars. The entrance is flanked by two-storey stair blocks with two-tiered hipped roofs.

The south-east elevation is symmetrical, with two single-storey projecting pavilions flanking a 19-window single-storey flat-roof range between them. Steel casement windows light this range, which contains a central projecting ashlar door case with double three-panel doors and a further smaller doorway at the left-hand end. Behind this range, the first floor of the pool contains five large semicircular-arched windows with impost blocks in rectangular recesses; the central window has an ashlar surround and a carved panel above. The north elevation follows a similar arrangement, but the single-storey range is blind and only one pavilion stands at the left side, originally providing access to the slipper baths; a disabled access ramp has been added to the front. The south-west elevation features a Venetian window with ashlar surround.

The pool roof is tiled with sprocketed eaves and is topped with a ridge lantern. A boiler house attached to the south-west side of the main pool by a single-storey range stands at an angle to the main road, orientated north-to-south. Its south elevation has a single-storey range with two square vehicle access points, the left now blocked. Behind this sits the gabled boiler house with mullioned windows to the first floor. Above the windows are an oculus vent and ashlar coping to the gable roof; this arrangement is mirrored on the north elevation. A round chimney stands to the west, topped with coping and decorated with rib bands at intervals up the shaft.

The entrance hall has bold geometric floor tiles and contains ticket booths on either side of the foyer, with entrances to the left and right ranges on either side of the main pool. A modern timber desk has been added to the left side and a light partition wall has enclosed the left ticket booth. On either side of the main entrance, dog leg stairs lead up to the pool gallery. Opposite the entrance, two sets of double wooden doors lead through to the pool. The pool area is open with inset poolside changing booths to both sides, replacements for earlier timber saloon-door booths. Female and male poolside showers are open to the south end, with a footbath (now used for storage) and two tile drinking fountains between them. The men's toilets remain in their original location to the left of the showers. The poolside has a non-slip tile floor added later.

A first-floor balcony and seating area surrounds the pool on all sides. The ornamental cast-iron balcony railing includes sea-shell detailing and original gas light holders. Behind this are two tiers of plain pine bench seating with a further rail above. A barrel vault roof sits above the pool; the central roof light has been blocked. Blue faïence tiles line most of the pool walls.

On the north side of the pool is a set of rooms served by a separate corridor, containing slipper baths and a towel room. Three of the four sections of slipper baths remain intact, most retaining their baths with Portland stone cubicles, white corrugated non-slip tiles with black tile borders, service bells, and some soap ledges and mirrors. Most doors have been removed, and the lantern roof lights may not survive beneath replacement roofing. The towel room has a later hook rack and the original herringbone pattern ceramic tile floor survives beneath modern flooring. The original arrangement comprises, from east to west, the women's slipper baths, first class men's slipper baths, men's waiting room with ceramic tile floor, and second class men's slipper bath. Part of the second class men's slipper baths have been replaced by the current female toilets, and the area which would have been the women's waiting room is now a disabled access toilet.

On the south side, a range of rooms served by a separate corridor contains offices arranged as originally planned (running east to west): office, two competitors' rooms, entrance way, kitchen and staff room, male and female artists' dressing rooms, entrance way, and artists' common room. All retain the original herringbone ceramic tile floors. Both side corridors contain herringbone-pattern ceramic floor tiles, are lined with blue faïence, white and black tiles, and are lit by a series of circular dome light wells.

The first service room is dominated by three large sand filtration tanks. Beyond a sliding connecting door, three cast iron winch weights remain in the boiler service area, and two original boilers (now unused) are in the room to the west, with a lead water tank above. Current boilers lie to the south of the originals, connected to the external chimney by a flue.

Attached ball finial cast-iron railings and gates stand to Dean Lane. The railings by the park are plainly detailed.