Warrender Baths
Encyclopedia
Warrender Swim Centre – traditionally known as Warrender Baths – is a swimming pool
and fitness complex in Marchmont
, Edinburgh
.
It consists of a pool 25 yards (22.9 m) in length, a sauna, and an assortment of fitness equipment. It is notable for its Victorian architecture
with bright interior and its old-fashioned poolside changing facilities. The baths enjoy category "B" listed building conservation status.
, 6th Baronet, and, using the local architect Robert Paterson, had the baths built. The original cost was £11,000 and the baths were opened on Saturday 17th December 1887 by Sir George.
Warrender Baths differed from many similar facilities in Edinburgh in that they were originally built privately with the emphasis on fitness and leisure. Many of the city's comparable swimming pools were part of a much wider scheme to build public baths to promote cleanliness and hygiene amongst the working classes, who did not have routine access at the time to sanitation. Warrender Baths also sported a billiard room and a reading room.
Initially the facilities were a success, but by 1906 were no longer viable and were closed. They were bought by the city for £3000, where they joined the city's portfolio of similar pools. Periodically suffering further closure threats, they were refurbished in 2005 and are now secure.
The baths are home to the Warrender Baths Club which is said to be the oldest, most famous and most successful swimming club in Scotland. David Wilkie
the Olympic gold medallist swimmer, Ellen King
the silver Olympic medallist and Jean McDowell
, the Olympic finalist, trained at Warrender Baths with Warrender Baths Club.
In November 2009, a swimming customer at Warrender Swim Centre was hit with glass due to a glazing fault, resulting in an injury to his arm and requiring the closure of the centre as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of customers. The baths were opened again in June 2010.
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and fitness complex in Marchmont
Marchmont
Marchmont is a mainly residential affluent area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies roughly a mile to the south of the Old Town, separated from it by The Meadows and Bruntsfield Links...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
It consists of a pool 25 yards (22.9 m) in length, a sauna, and an assortment of fitness equipment. It is notable for its Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
with bright interior and its old-fashioned poolside changing facilities. The baths enjoy category "B" listed building conservation status.
History
In 1886, some Edinburgh residents and members of the Bellahouston Private Baths Club, Glasgow, decided to build a swimming club in Edinburgh. Frank Y. Henderson therefore formed the Warrender Private Baths Club Limited which bought some land from Sir George WarrenderSir George Warrender, 7th Baronet
Vice-Admiral Sir George John Scott Warrender of Lochend, 7th Baronet KCB KCVO was a senior officer in the Royal Navy during World War I.-Early career:...
, 6th Baronet, and, using the local architect Robert Paterson, had the baths built. The original cost was £11,000 and the baths were opened on Saturday 17th December 1887 by Sir George.
Warrender Baths differed from many similar facilities in Edinburgh in that they were originally built privately with the emphasis on fitness and leisure. Many of the city's comparable swimming pools were part of a much wider scheme to build public baths to promote cleanliness and hygiene amongst the working classes, who did not have routine access at the time to sanitation. Warrender Baths also sported a billiard room and a reading room.
Initially the facilities were a success, but by 1906 were no longer viable and were closed. They were bought by the city for £3000, where they joined the city's portfolio of similar pools. Periodically suffering further closure threats, they were refurbished in 2005 and are now secure.
The baths are home to the Warrender Baths Club which is said to be the oldest, most famous and most successful swimming club in Scotland. David Wilkie
David Wilkie (swimmer)
David Andrew Wilkie MBE is a Scottish former swimmer, who was Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion in the 1970s.He is a member of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
the Olympic gold medallist swimmer, Ellen King
Ellen King
Ellen Elizabeth King was a Scottish swimmer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics, the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1930 British Empire Games...
the silver Olympic medallist and Jean McDowell
Jean McDowell
Jean H. McDowell was a Scottish freestyle swimmer who competed for Great Britain in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1928 she finished fourth the 100 metre freestyle event....
, the Olympic finalist, trained at Warrender Baths with Warrender Baths Club.
In November 2009, a swimming customer at Warrender Swim Centre was hit with glass due to a glazing fault, resulting in an injury to his arm and requiring the closure of the centre as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of customers. The baths were opened again in June 2010.
See also
- Edinburgh Royal InfirmaryEdinburgh Royal InfirmaryThe Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...
– one of the oldest swimming baths in Edinburgh was at the first purpose-built site of the hospital