Smethwick Baths – 3rd June 2017
Paranormal activity has been reported at Smethwick Baths (formally known as Thimblemill Baths), from the appearance of wet footprints fresh on the floor long after the last bather had gone home, to apparitions seen in the underground tunnels, as well as an airman, a girl called Emily and even the appearance of a ghostly horse. The underground tunnels are thought to be haunted by many spirits including that of children and more bizarrely the ghost of a woman has been seen in the toilets on a number of occasions! During our pervious investigation the sound of a child shouting 'Mummy' was heard and one of our investigators had the feeling of being followed down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, the figure of a man was seen to faded into a wall which was witnessed by 3 others! Was this the airman or the worker in a boiler suit that is known to roam the building? Smethwick Baths has a different feeling from other investigations as the activity appears to change dramatically from friendly to sinister fairly quickly and some of the crew have become uneasy during vigils especially when down in the underground tunnels. Are you brave enough, dare you join the 7th Sense Paranormal Crew as ‚’They Talk… We Listen…’ at Smethwick Baths.
From 9pm until 2am
£ 30
Smethwick Baths with its tall parabolic arches opened in 1933 and was based on the Royal Horticultural hall in London, which opened in 1930. Designed by Chester Button and Borough Engineer Roland Fletcher. Generations of families have used the many and varied activities based at the centre and the building is now over 80 years old. Smethwick Baths represents 1930’s civic architecture at its best but is there a darker side to wonderful 1930’s building.
In the darker period of world War II the baths took on a very different role. The reinforced concrete structure was ideal for the building to serve as a civil defence base, while the underground tunnels became a community air raid shelter. Dancing and concerts continued to boost the morale of the local people and it is rumoured that Glen Miller and his orchestra played at the baths during the war years.
The building itself has a long and varied history. Originally it opened as a two-season facility, with swimming in the spring/summer months and concerts during the winter. The summer season saw all the usual swimming and gala activities. Not forgetting the hosting of swimming competitions, the most notable of which was the BBC live televised swimming competition between West Germany and Great Britain. In addition to the pool activities, slipper baths were available for a small fee and were very popular up until the late 60s as most domestic houses did not have bathing facilities.
The first week in October saw the large pool drained and the mammoth task of constructing a sprung maple dance floor began, on average it took 2 weeks to transform the main area from pool to an event venue. Now the centre was ready for the busy winter season of concerts, dances, boxing and wrestling matches and all manner of exhibitions.
So successful was the concert space that it began to attract big stars such as; the Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Tommy Cooper and many more famous faces of the time. The large upstairs cafe was turned into the VIP suite and the slipper baths became dressing rooms and bars. As the 1970s approached the boarding over of the pool stopped and a new era of community activities started to take place.