1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

TIMELINE

1800s

1846 - 1882 Baths & Washhouses Act

In 1846 an Act was passed to encourage local authorities to build public baths and washhouses. Although some public baths and washhouses were constructed before 1846, It encouraged local authorities and gave them the powers to to establish these facilities and to take out loans to build them. The act was passed in response to the Cholera outbreak and the Public Health Act of 1848 being introduced.

1848 - 1849 - Cholera deaths in London - 14,000. Deaths recorded in wider Fulham, Hammersmith & Kensington - 33 per 10,000. It was believed that Cholera in towns like Fulham was particularly bad because of its proximity to the Thames, which was used as both sewage dumping ground and drinking water.

1878 - Baths & Washhouses Act ( Amendment ) The erection of covered swimming baths is authorised.

The establishment of public baths and washhouses is altered to include covered swimming baths to allow for year-round recreation. After the sinking of the Princess Alice on 3rd Sept, it is believed that this was a catalyst for the reform and introduction of swimming pools, to encourage people to learn to swim, as so many died because they couldn't swim.

The 1878 Baths and Washhouses Act (41 & 42 Vict. c. 14) was a key amendment to earlier legislation that empowered local authorities to build covered, indoor swimming pools, not just open-air ones. It was largely driven by a need to increase swimming skills and improve public health following safety concerns.

1890s

1890 - June 20th, The Fulham Chronicle, 'Proposed Public Baths for Fulham'

"... we have good precedents to show that, when once fairly started, such an institution is not only self-supporting, but is also an inestimable boon to all classes. The great benefits to the health and happiness of the community derivable from swimming baths and the like must be apparent to every thinking ratepayer, and we doubt not that they would as readily support the adoption of these acts, as they did, four years ago, those relating to the Free Public Library."

....." Surely Fulham will not permit itself to be left behind in the advantages it can offer to local residential population. We feel confident that the Free Public Library, the Town Hall, the public park about to be laid out near Fulham Palace, and Public Baths, together with good drainage, lighting, wood pavement, will contribute to the prosperity of this important suburb in the same manner as the large annual outlay upon gardens, terraces, and covered walks, tend to make Brighton and Eastbourne so attractive to the money-spending “City-Man”

1899 - Site was purchased on the North End Road for £10,250. The area of the site was 51,978 Square Feet

1899 - July - Design competition is announced

1900s

1900s Opening of the Baths, Dog Shows, Deaths

Among the articles and documents discovered in the first decade of the baths are a combination of special occasions, mundane and equally grim and shocking events. By 1903, teething problems with design and construction already had fatal consequences.

Queen Victoria died in 1901, and was succeeded by Edward VII whose reign lasted until 1910.

1900 - 7th September - 'Selected Design', The Building News. The winning design by H. Dighton Pearson is announced and detailed with a photolithographic image

1900 - 30th October - Laying of the Foundation Stone (Copies of the local paper were thrown into a hole in the stone)

1902 - 11th April - Opening Ceremony 'Councillor Sayer takes the first plunge"

1903 - 22nd December - Fatal Electrocution of William Brown and William Arthur Line due to "insufficient earthing" of electrical cables.

1905 - Attempted Suicide - May A. Davis

1909 - 19th November - Kensington Canine Society Dog Show Article

1910s

Thefts, Dog Shows, World War One

George V Reigns 1910 - 1936

1910 - 8th November - Kensington Canine Society Dog Show Article , 2000 dogs attended the one-day show

1918 - Demand increases for Swimming Baths facilities with emphasis on Public Health ( Article 61. 1937 Fulham Baths Re-Opened )

1919 - Theft at Fulham Baths

1920s

According to the Fulham Chronicle in 1980, it was calculated that by 1925, some 7 million admissions had been made to the baths since opening. According to the 1921 census, the Metropolitan borough of Fulham is 157,938.

1925 - October 25, during the winter season the times would change. Only one swimming bath was kept open, and different time slots were allocated. Class and gender divides were still part of everyday society.

1923 - Boxing Fixtures published

1925 - Water Purification Plant Installed

1926 - 30th January - Children's party for children of ex/deceased servicemen

1927 - Fulham Civic Week

1930s

During the 1930s, having been in operation for almost 30 years, the baths underwent its first substantial rearrangement and refurbishment, with the largest pool undergoing the Winter Hall conversion. This meant that the pool would be drained in the winter months, boarded over and allowed for other municipal and public activities. The renovation of the baths was said to have cost £62,000 (Equivalent to about £5.4million today.)

Fulham baths during the brief reign abdication of King EdwardVIII, celebrating the coronation of George VI.

1930 - 3rd - 6th November, Health Exhibition held at Fulham Baths

1931- Indoor Cricket Season begins, Mayor of Fulham bowling first ball

1933 - Fulham Borough Council Engages Architect Kenneth Mervyn Baskerville Cross [also known as K.M.B. Cross] to undertake the reconstruction in the baths.

1934 - Men's First Class Swimming Bath fitted out as an indoor bowling green

1936 - 14th February - Proposed improvements of the Fulham Baths put forward

1937 - 9th April - Fulham Chronicle Article Following progress of the renovation

1937 - May - Coronation of George VI

1937 - 24th September - Ladies' Swimming Baths refurbished

1937 -1st October - Fulham Baths re-opened

1937 - Re-opening ceremony - Mayor Alderman C. Lancaster performed

1939 - 14th April - Fulham Baths and the war effort - Emergency Water Supply for Firefighters West London Observer After consultation with the Air Raid Committee, the total of 300,000 gallons of water stored in the three swimming pools and storage tank at the rear of the baths would be used.

1940s

1940s ( World War 2, Baths on screen and pageants )

1941 - War Weapons Week in Fulham

1940 - Men's Swimming Team ' The Imps'

1944 - 28th April - Baths start to close on Saturday morning so the staff can undertake all the contractual laundry for the other councils

1946 - 'On Location' - filming of J.Arthur Rank's 'Circus Boy'

1947 - 'Circus Boy' Film released

1947 - New Dance Floor is laid " 60 tons of timber for a 40 yard pinewood floor, laid out on trestles over the pool"

1947 - 'Silver Lining Week' - set out on the new dance floor

1947 - Novel Exhibit, an exhibition, held in the newly opened ballroom, was formally inaugurated by the Mayor and showcased the creativity and innovation of the local community.

1947 - Ballroom Pageant and New Ballroom opening

1948 - Boxing Matches

1948 - 'Mangling by Steam' new steam mangles introduced to help with increasing demand on laundry service.

1948 - Women keeping fit excercise classes organised by WI

1948 - June - Neptune Statue Bathed / Building is cleaned for the first time since construction.

1950s

1950s Public Events, General Election

By the 1950s, Fulham Baths was well and truly part of the beating heart of Fulham also known as Walham Green. It celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the formation of the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham in 1900. The baths once again played its part in national history, becoming a filming location for the second televised vote count.

1950 - Peter Pan performance by Fulham Life Brigade Girls

1951 - 25th October - General Election Vote Count is televised at Fulham Baths

1952 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

1952 - Fulham Borough Council Golden Jubilee Exhibition

1952 - Beauty Pageant - Miss Sunshine ( Fulham Chronicle) A 24-year-old housewife and mother, who had previously been a runner-up five years earlier, was crowned Miss Sunshine in this local beauty contest.

1952 - Fulham Sports Chronicle - Bowlers who never admit defeat

1954 - 18th May Tues - Fulham Chronicle Article - Marcian Swimmers

1957 - Automatic Shavers introduced and installed.

1957 - Swimming Certificates

1958 - Primroses Tea Party -

1958 - Victorian Society is established to protect Victorian buildings against a wave of new developments

1959 - Labour Party Bazaar Fulham MP Michael and Mrs Stewart

General Election Vote Counts Outside Broadcast is filmed from Fulham Baths. It was the second general election to be covered on television.

In 1951, Fulham Baths was boarded over and served as a venue for the live broadcasting of election vote counting, with the BBC filming the event. Notably, women participated in the vote-counting process, reflecting the evolving role of women in public and civic life.

Fulham Baths would have been boarded over and covered for the winter at this point

The Sketch Magazine, 'Television' by Cyril Butcher, 7th November 1951

1960s

After another 30 years since the previous renovations, the Ladies' Pool is reopened following a 2-month closure. There was resistance to modernisation, and housewives voiced concerns over the modernisation.

1965 - November 27th Annual Christmas Fair - opened by Mrs Michael Grylls ( Bear Grylls' Mother )

In 1965, the annual Christmas fair at Fulham Baths was a festive highlight of the season. The event featured Father Christmas himself, and was officially opened by none other than Mrs. Michael Grylls, the mother of famed adventurer Bear Grylls.

1966 - Housewives protest and appeal at getting new sinks, replacing them with coin operated washing machines ( Fulham Chronicle )

1969 - Ladies' Pool Reopens after 2 month closure ( cost £4000 ) ( Fulham Chronicle, 31st October 1969 )

1970s

In the 1970s, the conversation grew louder around the safety of the baths and whether it was a financially viable operation. Locals had become accustomed to the facilities and heavily relied on it for their laundry. To many, it was also a social nucleus. By the end of the decade, some believe the cuts to public services was the catalyst for the baths closing. Alice Davies, a local, became a well-known figure in the campaign to save the baths and fought its closure for nearly 13 months, all the while living inside the vacant premises.

1970s / 1960s - housing in the area still didn't have bathtubs (or running water?)

1970 - 2nd January - OAP Tea Party attended by Michael Stewart MP ( who was also the Foreign Secretary ) Fulham Chronicle Article

1971 - 15th Feb - Decimalisation of currency came into force. Prices for baths increased in line with the change.

1976 - April - Middle Pool closes for safety reasons because of the dangerous roof structure.

1976 - Peeping Tom falls through roof after spying on bathers

1979 - 3rd May - Margaret Thatcher wins the UK General Election and sets about imposing cuts on local goverment and their public services, including Fulham.

1979 - 17th August - Protests and public letters about the proposed renovations

1979 - 17th Sept - (Ref August 24th Public Letters )- The council had only recently spent thousands of pounds pipe lagging, redecorating corridors and installing ventilation in the ladies' pool, all done only shortly before the council decided to agree the pool was unsafe.

1979 - 14th Sept - Fulham Chronicle - Fight to Save Fulham Baths - placquards and protesters outside. NALGO - National Association of Local Government Officers provided the staff for the premises.

1979 - 21st September - Fulham Chronicle - Reflects on the impending closure and asks Are Fulham Baths really dangerous?

1979 - 30th September - Fulham Baths Close Alice Davies starts her protest stay

1979 - Alice Davies Defies Bailiffs to Fight for the Baths

1979 - Alice Davies crowned 'Miss Fulham Baths' 1979

1979 - 22nd October - 2500 Gallons of fuel oil delivered to Baths. Was enough to keep baths functioning for 5 days at the cost of £1000, ( equivalent to £5,000 in 2026) raised by the Save Our Baths campaigners. ( so it took approx 500 gallons / day to run )

1979 - 26th October - The baths reopen ( Fulham Chronicle )

1980s

By the 1980s, a number of Victorian buildings were under threat of demolition, including Fulham Baths.

1980 - 29th Feb - Laundry re-opens Swimming Pool and baths, operational on Friday Saturday Sunday.

1980 - 18th April - Work starts on new baths, occupation of old baths still underway

1980 - 27th August - Alice Davies does a live-in protest in the baths

1980 'TELEGRAM SAM' by BAUHAUS filmed on location at Fulham Baths

1980 - 6th Nov - The Journal Alice Davies evicted from Baths after 13 month campaign

1981 - 10th March - Government UK Budget. Public spending was cut significantly.

1981 - 29th March - Alice Davies loses appeal

1981 - 17th April - Work continues on preparing for demolition ( Slate Tiles Removed )

1981 - 22nd May - Demolition of the baths begins

1990s

1990 -1991 After nearly a decade of lying derelict and dormant, work begins on construction of Dance Attic Studios, which had moved from its site in Putney Bridge to the new home at Fulham Public Baths & Wash-houses

2000s

2010s

2013 - 27th August - ' WASH HOUSE STORIES' performed at Dance Attic Studios

2012, London Olympics Torch Procession passes Fulham Baths

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