Written about 1951 by Birkenhead Corporation....

"Under various powers the Corporation has provided public baths at Livingstone Street, Byrne Avenue and Argyle Street South. Slipper baths are available at all three and Argyle Street South and Livingstone Street have steam vapour baths. Byrne Avenue and Argyle Street South also specialise in medicated baths including "Zotofoam"

"The Byrne Avenue Baths, built in 1933, is a modern building, architecturally simple, with sandfaced multi-coloured bricks relieved with artificial stone dressings, and is one of the finest establishments of its kind in the North of england. The building contains two swimming baths, one 75 feet long by 30 feet wide, the other 75 feet long by 35 feet wide. The larger one is ideally suited for Water Polo. Dressing rooms and cloakrooms are on the ground floor. Cafe and kitchens are upstairs. There are club rooms and special facilities for schools.
Birkenhead Swimming Club have their headquarters here and excellent galas are held during the season.
A proffesional swimming instructor is available at these baths - terms on application.
In the winter months the larger pool is covered with maple floor and converted into an Assembly Hall seating 1,000 people or accommodating some 400 for dancing. Other activities include roller skating and an indoor cricket school; Secretary of the Winter Cricket Association is Mr. C. S. Chantrell, "Withinfield", Rocky Lane, Heswall, to whom enquiries should be addressed."

"The large pool at Livinstone Street Baths is converted to a Youth Centre for the winter months, and facilities are provided for various indoor activities such as basket ball, net ball, etc. The Centre is under control of the Youth Organiser."

"Enquiries regarding the Baths and Hall lettings should be addressed to the Superintendent and Engineer, Baths & Municipal Buildings, Byrne Avenue, Rock Ferry, Birkenhead."

More about the baths

Thanks bert, I was waiting a bit before I asked if anyone new anything about the Argyle St baths, they are new to me.

New to me too?

Pretty sure theres a picture of the Livingstone Street baths in Wirral History somewhere - just had a quick look, but cant find it

The Argyle St baths were almost opposite to Central Station. I think they were closed for quite a while before being demolished in the early '60's (?)

I've read somewhere that the water was heated slightly when delivered to the baths. It was condensate from the "Grasshopper" steam engines used to pump water from the rail tunnel at Shore Road. It was piped from Shore Road to Argyle St. It was then "topped up" by the boilers at Argyle St., thus reducing costs.

I'll try and find the ref. to the above in my mega book pile !!

Got it wrong again Dad !!! The baths were supplied with water from Shore Road (That bit's right). However, it was the tunnel drainage water (crystal clear salt water that percolated through the sandstone from the river) that was fed to the baths.

It wasn't the heated condensate. Sorry for that.

Ref:- The Lines Beneath the Liners. J.W.Gahan. p.35.

So Livingstone Street Baths was a salt water pool like Guinea Gap?

Well done Pinz, they were indeed opposite Central Station on Argyle Street South.

Livingstone St Baths were salt water taken from one of the docks.

The docks???? That's gross!

The location of the baths looks to be about where National Tyres is.
Could that building be the baths? It looks pretty old.

Livingstone st baths was not salt water big pool for the older kids in holidays. The small pool family type and warmer both had balcony's round top jump of them if pool attendant wasn't looking. you could get hot bath there adults only 6d my old man took his one towel bit less then 4d..

Interesting little sidelight on that map. There was a loop in the tram tracks at Central station which would apparently allow trams from Borough Rd. to turn & return up Borough Rd. without switching ends. Presumably some trams terminated at Central instead of going to Woodside, but why they went to the trouble of putting in a loop is a puzzle. This loop doesn't show on the track plans I have. I'm assuming it was indeed a loop, but the line is obscured by the lettering of Borough Rd. 1936 is only a year before the trams stopped completely & already the tracks up Argyle St. South, leading to the Church Rd. line were gone. In fact, the tracks up Borough Rd. aren't that clearly marked either, so maybe they'd been lifted too. Next time I go to the archives I'll try to find out a bit more.

Didn't realise that Livingston St. baths used dock water. Must have had a good filtration system !

A few years back, I organised a visit to the Shore Road Pumping Station (before it was restored). The remaining engine was just as it was left in 1959. The main reason for the visit was to walk under the river along the disused ventilation heading that runs above the rail tunnel. (Will someone check that Robbo's tied down). We then got the lift cage down to the drainage heading that's below the tunnel.

The water that percolates into the rail tunnel, about 4,000gpm., ends up in sumps on both sides of the river. Now HERE'S where we get back on topic (Thank Gawd you groan). The water in the sumps is an amazing blue/green and clear as crystal ! The sump at Shore Road must have been about 12' deep with the bottom clearly visible ! We were all gobsmacked. As was explained to us, the crap Mersey water is filtered through the porous red sandstone and comes out still 100% salt but 100% clear.

I was down the pilot tunnel heading of the Wallasey road tunnel when they were digging about 300yds under the river. Temporary drainage sumps were dug into the floor and they too were full of clear Mersey liquid ! Good stuff sandstone.

Sorry for long post. Thought it might be of interest.

Will someone PLEASE sedate Robbo. Sweating, bright red face, steam coming out of ears, uncontrollable thrashing of feet, just about to break his securing chains. TUNNELS:TUNNELS:TUNNELS....

I seem to remember the water in Guinea Gap baths used to kill your eyes, that never use to happen at Livingstone st or Bryne ave, It also happened at the Woodchurch baths when they opened. Were does the name come from for Guinea Gap ?.

one story was that a skeleton and a sword and some guineas were found there ages ago

ROBBO has been sedate!

bryne av baths used to give me the creeps.

Argyle Street Baths

Thanks Bert

Good spot uptoncx.

I know its not Birkenhead public baths but near enough [youtube]sQw2fr87d6g[/youtube]

Thanks again Bert, you weren't a swimming instructor or something by any chance?

no, swim like a brick

Livvy wasn't salt as far as I can remember, nice clear water, if sometimes a bit yellowy. Had a blue tinge to it and I think it was chlorinated but not to a great degree. Used to hire a penny slip as we didn't have a cozzy. Used the hot baths into the 60's when home on leave because the houses didn't have baths in them and it was easier than having a wash down at the sink. The baths were very similar to the Guinea Gap baths on the earlier vid. We spent many happy hours there and used to get chased out by the attendant once our lips were turning blue and we were all shivering through hypothermia.

Missus just informed me that she can remember going to Livvy for a bath in the very late 60's. We didn't come back from Singapore until 1967 so it must have been a little after that. She was staying at my mum's while I sailed back.

well.....i never knew there used to be a baths opposite central station"""

Livy was salt. but they built that hotel in Liverpool by the dock enterance and redirected the water supplied to Livy to heat the hotel,can't remember which tunnel the water was pumped from,the water at Livy was always clean and sparkling even when the kids 6week holidays were up,how many kids that learned to swim in those two pools must have been in the thousands,we used to take the kids from Charing Cross Methodist Church/Dolphin club every week to Livy.

At the back of Livvy was a large green corrugated structure, which I reckon housed the heating apparatus for the water. As kids we used to scrounge in the clinker dumped at the side of it for bits of unburnt coke which we would take home for the home fire. There were green iron railings around this and it had a gate which used to open onto Price Street, just opposite the Shamrock Hotel, or the Shammy as we called it.

There used to be a roller skating rink in Byrne Ave. Don't remember if it was the pool covered over in winter or what, but it was going for a long time. I spend more time on my backside than skating so didn't go there very often for that.

Argyle Street south Baths pictured in the mid-60s.

Where Argyle baths were.
The brickwork looks oldish but it doesn't look like the other pics.
Nearly opposite on the other side of the road on the pavement are some metal things(my mind has blank as to what they're called) and I wonder if they had anything to do with the baths or are they the name of the makers

FH is fire hydrant

Postbox is VR - Queen Victoria

Salt - I've no idea

Those Argyle Street South pictures certainly bring back memories. My Dad used to go there for a bath of a Saturday morning and I sometimes went with him as a very small child in the Fifties. When you had no bath at home (in fact, no hot running water) it was brilliant.
However, I'm not sure derekdwc's modern picture is the correct location of the old baths. If you look closely at marty99fred's mid-60s picture, you can see a building next to the No10 bus. This building looks like the one pictured by derekdwc. I think the baths were further down towards Borough Road.
It's a long time since I've had a look around there, so bear with me if I'm wrong.

The grid covers marked "SALT" would have been associated with the baths. Some of the water from Shore Road Pumping Station that came from the drainage heading of the Mersey Railway tunnel was supplied to the Argyle St. Baths. It was salt water from the Mersey. Unlike raw Mersey water, it was crystal clear. It was naturally filtered by the sandstone strata. Perfect for the baths!

On a visit many years ago, I remember seeing the sump at the bottom of the Shore Road pumping shaft. It had about 12 - 15 feet of standing Mersey water in it. Perfectly clear with a tinge of blue. Unbelieveable!

the building photographed kindly by derek is shown in the older snap next to the number 10 bus....it was in exhistance at the same time as the baths, which were situated just about next to them.............where the building yard is today....

I learnt to swim with Mr Lord of the ymca,at livingstone Street in 1960 also took part in scoutx swimming galas at Byrne avenue baths,very much enjoyed visiting both,in summer swam outdoors at portsunlight baths