BATHS A NI> WASH HOUSES, PntLIf. 



BATHS AND WASHHOUSES, PUBLIC. 









id In other respects, were at least unani- 



in declaring that those dwellings exhibited a degree of dirt and 



- . : ;.... . '' 



remedies for the evil were suggested, and several carried into execution 

 On* little knot of practical men resolved fortunately to give their 

 TT4.1 attention to the matter of personal cleanliness It had bean 

 allowed- by all who were really acquainted with the homes of the very 

 poor, that in their crowded and wretched dwellings cleanliness was 

 CnpcUble. In such places not only were there scarcely the means for 

 personal cleanliness, but to wash and dry clothes properly was quite 

 impracticable. It was proposed, therefore, to see whether the esta- 

 blishment of places where, for a small charge, a warm bath could at 

 any time be had, and where all the conveniences for washing and 

 drying clothes should be provided free of charge, or at a trifling cost 

 per hour, would not be gladly accepted by tho elaaSM moot requiring 



The movement was practically initiated by the holding of an in- 

 fluential meeting at the Mansion House, under the presidency of the 

 Lord Mayor, in September, 1844, when resolutions were passed for the 

 formation of an " Association for Promoting Cleanliness amongst the 

 Poor ; " and an active subscription was commenced. The first experi- 

 ment was made in a wretched locality near the London Docks, where 

 in an open court, called Glasshouse Yard, Rosemary Lane, an old 

 bat capacious building, which had for some time been occupiod by 

 " sleeping-berths for the houseless poor," was rented and converted 

 into the first " Free Baths and Wash-houses," and opened in May, 

 1845. A portion of the building was adapted, as well as it could be at 

 a small expense, to the purpose, and f unuahed with a due supply of tubs 

 and boilers, and with a few baths in various out-of-the-way recesses ; 

 and soap and soda, as well as hot and cold water, were provided 

 gratuitously. The number of persons who availed themselves of the 

 establishment wan, in the first year, 27,662 bathers, and 93,577 washers ; 

 hi the second year there were 84,584 bathers and washers. This, 

 though the first establishment of the kind in London, was not the first 

 in England; a very small one having been previously started, and with 

 much success, in Liverpool, though without the knowledge of the 

 London Committee. The Glasshouse Yard establishment owed Its 

 success solely to its usefulness. There was nothing extrinsic to render 

 it attractive. It was placed in one of the worst spots in the metro- 

 polis ; the building itself was as little suited to the purpose as any 

 building well could be ; the accommodation was of the most ordinary 

 kind. 'Vet it at once proved if proof were needed that the poorest 

 in that wretched neighbourhood would gladly be clean when the means 

 were attainable. In August, 1846, a second, and much superior esta- 

 blishment, was opened in George Street, Euston Square; a plot of 

 ground having been liberally offered by the New River Comjxany, near 

 one of their reservoirs, with the additional advantage of a free supply 

 of water for the first nix months. In the first year there were here 

 some 118,000 bathers and 20,000 washers. This establishment, in which 

 the baths are more varied in price than elsewhere, still flourishes. 



The establishment third in point of date was, however, the first in 

 importance and in the value of the consequences which resulted from 

 it. In this the committee first fairly developed their plans. Although 

 the building in Glasshouse Yard was opened gratuitously, it had been 

 desired that the institution should as soon as practicable be rendered 

 elf -supporting by means of a small charge to each person who used it. 

 The committee hoped too, to see the system extended throughout the 

 country; and they rightly thought that nothing would so effectually 

 and speedily further That object as to be able to show a Moil 

 bUahment, which, while it contained all the conveniences and appliances 

 which those who availed themselves of it could desire, should be in 

 itself all that science, combined with practical skill, could effect in the 

 economy, suitableness, and completeness of its arrangements. Accord 

 Ingly, architects and others were invited to send in designs for baths 

 and laundries, and all the information which could be obtained was 

 collected. The Model Establishment was then erected on a site v. hie! 

 had been purchased in Qoulston Square, Whitochapel, a very poor anci 

 crowded neighbourhood, but of ready access. The arrangements being 

 boost entirely novel caused a very largo original outlay, and man; 

 changes have been subsequently made ; but as a whole they had been 

 so carefully considered, and were so judiciously designed 

 Priohard Baly, the committee's engineer, that no material alteratioi 

 has since been found necessary: Indeed, In a recent Report of the 

 Committee, we are told that " the general arrangements and mode o 

 construction have been almost universally followed in Loud. <n 

 country." 



In general character, then, these establishments are pretty much 

 alike. A brief sketch of the interior of any one will serve to give a 

 general conception of all, it being understood that there are difference 

 of detail In each. 



Tho baths for males and females are on opposite sides of the bnile 

 ing, and separated in Qoulston Square by the washing-room, in some 

 others by the plunging-bath*. In both sides are first- and second cl.-w 

 baths. The apartment 10 which these are placed is spacious and loft} 

 covered by an open roof, and lighted in the day by ample skylighu 

 by gaahgliU st night. Each bath-room is a distinct compartment 

 somewhat more than six feet square, shut in by walls of painted slate 

 which are carried up to the height of some ten feet ; but the top i 



he bath, in some 

 as usual above it, is either of iron enamelled, or of zinc. 



pen, so as, while ensuring privacy, to admit of thorough venti' 



establishments sunk in the ground, in others placed 



The first- and 



< lass rooms are usually alike in every respect, except that the 

 ttinga in the fimt-claas rooms are of a superior kind, and more com- 

 leto than in the second. On each door is a porcelain knob, having a 

 umber painted upon it; a similar number is painted inside. An 

 ndex outside enables an attendant to let in either hot or cold water, 

 as the bather may direct. The charge for a first-class warm bath is 

 usually sixpence, for which two towels, flesh and hair brushes, and a 

 comb, are allowed. For a second-class bath the charge is twopence, I <ut 

 nly one towel is allowed, and the bather must provide his own comb 

 nd brushes. The baths are in all respects alike, the same quaiii 

 ut.-i- tin uicwt place* forty-fiv* gallons, but at St. Martin's much i. 



. 1, and the l*th is invariably cle,,n.-l after each person. The 



IKM* i* indeed observed in every respect For a 



cold bath the charges are respectively threepence for a first- and one 



tenny for a second-class bath : the regulations are the same as with 



ni baths. The tmths on the female side are similar to the 



thers, but there i- a little more taste in the first-dais fittings. At 



loiilston Square there are only warm and cold baths. At St. Martin's 



-h . .r-i..ith is added. At George Street there are also vapour-baths. 



\t all the more recently constructed establishments there are plunge 



r swimming baths filled with tepid w.it.-i. For these swimming-baths 



he charge is usually four]>ence for the first-, and twopence each person 



or the second-class. At the larger of the recent establishments there 



are two swimming-baths a first and a second class ; the smaller places 



lave only one large bath, using it three days a week as a first-, and the 



ither three days as a second-class bath. 



The laths have everywhere proved exceedingly popular. The 

 second-class baths are, in the summer particularly, always well at- 

 tended, and of an evening there are generally many waiting foi 

 urns, which are always strictly in the order of arrival. 



The number of baths varies, of course, according to i i 

 >f the locality, and the size of the building. The uumber of first-class 

 >aths, for example, at St. Mortin's-in -the- Fields is twenty-four men's, 

 five women's; of second-class, thirty-three men's, and eight w. i 

 At Ooulston Square, there arc ninety-four first- and second-das.-* ' 

 At St. James's, Marshall Street, there are only about fifty of both 

 classes; but there is a swimming-bath. The nmnbvr of bathi 

 ioulston Square in the year is above 150,000; at St. Martin's-in-the- 

 Fields the number is above 200,000. 



The Wcuh-kmuct ore more remarkable than the lathing-rooms, be- 

 cause entirely unlike what is seen anywhere else. Along the . 

 on one side, and at the ends of a large and lofty room, are ranges of 

 ittle doorless and roofless compartments, the walls Win;; of un| 

 slate, and some six or eight feet high: these are the washing i 

 At convenient points are the wringing-uiaohines. Along one > 

 Jie room (at Goulston Square) is what looks like a range of wide but 

 shallow deal drawers, turned up endways, the handles being one 

 ;he other that is the drying apparatus. A long flannel-covered board 

 ji f unlisted for ironing on. In some of the latest wash-houses a mangle 



provided. 



Each washing compartment is 6 feot long by 3J feet wide. At the 

 end are two wooden troughs, which serve ax a washing-tub and a 

 boiler; these are furnished with taps for hot and cold water, for 

 steam, and for letting oft' the waste water, so that the tubs are tilled 

 and emptied without any more trouble on the part of the washer than 

 turning the tap, and without moving from her standing-place. The 

 water in the boiler is made to boil by the admission of steam into it, 

 which, as we said, the washer can do whenever she pleases. '11 

 til it ion is so arranged that the steam from each compartment is at 

 once drawn upwards, and carried off to the great ventilating shaft. 



The wruiging-uiachme is in rffei-t a sort of wide but it 

 eolander; the sides, instead of the bottom, being perforated, oi 

 formed of galvanised wire, HO arranged ' that the meshes are about a 

 quarter of an inch apart. When the wet clothes are put in tin 

 set ill rapid motion by a handle, which works a lew connecting wheels; 

 the clothes at once, 1 >y ecnti i fug-.il force, arrange themselves around the 

 sides, and the water is rapidly driven out i" wires, and 



carried off by water-pipes : an opening at the foot of the machine 

 shows when the water ceases to flow, and when, consequently, the 

 "wringing" is completed, and then the] pressure of a le, 

 stops the machine. The machine has rather a heavy look, but Up- 

 turning of it is really very light work, and by it three minutes suffice 

 to rid even a thick blanket of its moisture. The dryiug-chamlwr is a 

 long chamber, heated by hot air to a temperature above 212, and 

 divided into numerous smaller chambers, so as to separate 

 of the washers. Each division of the chamber contains a clothes-horse 

 or maiden, one being allowed to each washer. In ten minutes or a 

 quarter of on hour the clothes, unless very heavy or mum-ions, are 

 quite dry. The committee have published a table in one of their 

 .to show the rapidity with which the drying in accomplished. 

 i" the results are curious. Wo may take a single instance as an 

 illustration of the processes we have been following. Three :..:: dirty 



-,-hed Wore being washed 9 Ibs. 1 oz. ; after v 

 I -Jlllx. 14ozs.; after leaving thv wriugiug-maohiue, 1211m. 3oz*.; 

 after being dried, 8 Ibs. 12 ozs. Those blankets took 25 minutes to 



