Western Baths Co. Ltd
Client
The Western Baths Club, Glasgow, had open-air antecedents: until industrial effluent in the mid-19th century made the river unsafe, bathing in the Clyde was popular with male Glaswegians. Between the 1870s and 1890s, five private swimming clubs opened in Glasgow, providing an exclusive, middle-class alternative. 1 These baths were open to subscribing members only, and were quite distinct from municipally-funded public washhouses. 2
In October 1875, the Western Baths Club share prospectus envisaged erecting 'suitable swimming, Turkish and other baths ... for the suburbs west of the Kelvin', i.e. the independent burgh of Hillhead. 3 The 'Spanish-Gothic style' buildings by Clarke and Bell contained baths 90 x 35 feet (27.43 x 10.67 m), roofed with wrought-iron 'ornamental spandrels'. 4 Founding directors included H. E. Crum-Ewing, merchant, Thomas Wharrie, civil engineer, James Alexander, coachbuilder, J. B. Mirrlees, engineer and Hugh Steven, ironfounder, all 'prominent businessmen'. Hillhead Provost Henry Cowan, Medical Professor J. B. Cowan and architect James Sellars joined, enjoying this 'important social centre for professional men'. 5
The Cranworth Street premises opened in 1878, an overspend of £2762 being due to the 'unexpected nature of the ground', and upgraded fittings, at a cost of upwards of £1600, including the sliding 'rings and a trapeze overhanging the water'. 6 In 1880, 'young ladies' from a neighbouring school were receiving swimming lessons there, 'attended by a governess', but an alleged shortfall of £4,000 in 1881 suggests financial problems. 7 'Teakwood reclining couches ... 80 Turkish bath sheets ...[and] 40 spittoons' were sold after sequestration in 1884, but the Club reopened under new directorship in 1886; the new directors included future Lord Provost James Bell and shipowner Robert MacLelland. The reopening was depicted by local illustrator A. S. Boyd. 8
Ladies' competitive events apparently had all-female audiences in 1889: this type of exercise was described in 1891 as a method of combatting girls' 'langour and listlessness'. 9 Electric light was advertised in 1899, and Harrogate-style 'therapeutic baths' for 'rheumatism, gout [and] sciatica', available only on medical prescription, were installed in 1908. 10 The Club continues (2014) to function as a private club, for male and female members.
Notes:
1: W. M. Mann, The Baths: The Story of the Western Baths, Hillhead, From 1876 to 1990, Glasgow: Privately Published, 1990, pp. 11, 15; Ged O'Brien, Played in Glasgow: Charting the Heritage of a City at Play, Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 2010, p. 202–5; Glasgow Post Office Directory, 1888–9, p. 907.
2: James Bell and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration, Glasgow: James MacLehose & Sons, 1895, pp. 173–9; A. K. Chalmers, J. Paton, G Neilson, Souvenir Handbook of Glasgow ... on the Occasion of the 22nd Congress of the Sanitary Institute, Glasgow: Robert Anderson, 1904, pp. 92–3, and illustrations facing p. 92; Ged O'Brien, Played in Glasgow: Charting the Heritage of a City at Play, Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 2010, pp. 208–9.
3: Glasgow Herald, 27 October 1875, p. 4; 20 December 1875, p. 7; 31 March 1876, pp. 4, 6.
4: Glasgow Herald, 1 April 1876, p. 4.
5: W. M. Mann, The Baths: The Story of the Western Baths, Hillhead, From 1876 to 1990, Glasgow: Privately Published, 1990, pp. 11, 17, 18.
6: Glasgow Herald, 28 March 1879, p. 6; 13 October 1884, p. 11; Ged O'Brien, Played in Glasgow: Charting the Heritage of a City at Play, Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 2010, p. 206.
7: Glasgow Herald, 30 August 1880, p. 1; 24 May 1881, p. 6.
8: Glasgow Herald, 13 October 1884, p. 11; 5 January 1885, p. 2; 2 April 1886, p. 3; W. M. Mann, The Baths: The Story of the Western Baths, Hillhead, From 1876 to 1990, Glasgow: Privately Published, 1990, pp. 21, 23–4; A. S. Boyd, Glasgow Men and Women ... from the Sketches of Twym, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1905, pp. 136–7.
9: Glasgow Herald, 14 October 1889, p. 8; 10 April 1891, p. 9.
10: Glasgow Herald, 1 May 1899, p. 1; Scotsman, 18 February 1908, p. 4.
