Marshall Street Baths

Photo:Public laundry room with women folding washing and using the mangles at Marshall Street Baths and Laundry, 1908

Public laundry room with women folding washing and using the mangles at Marshall Street Baths and Laundry, 1908

Photo:"The Marshall Street public baths and public laundry: official opening by his Worship the Mayor, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, 17 April 1931" (front cover)

"The Marshall Street public baths and public laundry: official opening by his Worship the Mayor, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, 17 April 1931" (front cover)

Photo:Plan showing section through 1st and 2nd class swimming baths at Marshall Street Baths by architects Alfred W S Cross and Kenneth M B Cross, 1931

Plan showing section through 1st and 2nd class swimming baths at Marshall Street Baths by architects Alfred W S Cross and Kenneth M B Cross, 1931

Photo:Ground floor plan of the swimming bath at Marshall Street Baths by architects Alfred W S Cross and Kenneth M B Cross, 1931

Ground floor plan of the swimming bath at Marshall Street Baths by architects Alfred W S Cross and Kenneth M B Cross, 1931

Photo:"The Marshall Street public baths and public laundry : official opening by his Worship the Mayor, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, 17 April 1931", exterior view of the baths

"The Marshall Street public baths and public laundry : official opening by his Worship the Mayor, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, 17 April 1931", exterior view of the baths

Photo: Illustrative image for the 'Marshall Street Baths' page

"The City of Westminster Official Guide", image of Marshall Street Baths, 1960

Photo:"The Marshall Street public baths and public laundry: official opening by his Worship the Mayor, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, 17 April 1931", interior view of the baths

"The Marshall Street public baths and public laundry: official opening by his Worship the Mayor, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, 17 April 1931", interior view of the baths

Photo: Illustrative image for the 'Marshall Street Baths' page

View of pool of the first Marshall Street Baths

History of Marshall Street Baths

By Tim Devitt

The first public baths in Marshall Street were opened by the Vestry of St James, Piccadilly in 1852. The site was redeveloped between 1928 and 1931 at a cost of £173,000, based on the designs of architects Alfred W S Cross and Kenneth M B Cross. The new public baths and wash-houses were opened by the Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Captain J F C Bennett, on 17 April 1931 . The main pool is lined with Sicilian marble, which is used along with Swedish green marble on the walls at either end. The bronze fountain in a niche at the shallow end of the main pool depicting a merchild is by Walter Gilbert. Behind the main pool was a smaller pool, the 'second class bath' with a barrel-vaulted roof. The baths were closed in 1997 in response to safety fears. A subsequent major refurbishment was carried out by Westminster City Council and its development partner Marshall Street Regeneration Ltd between 2008 and 2010.

This page was added by Tim Devitt on 26/03/2010.
Comments about this page

I was working nearby in the 1980s and remember there was a grand re-opening ceremony on 23 June 1987 when it opened after a revamp.  It had been closed for nine years because of a structural fault in the barrel-vaulted roof. I still have the newspaper article about it which says that Westminster council spent almost a million pounds on the revamp.  What I want to know is why did it close all over again only ten years later, and I hope that million pounds was not wasted? 

By Teresa Stokes
On 23/01/2016
Add a comment about this page

If you're already a registered user of this site, please login using the form on the left-hand side of this page.