If Kentish Town Baths' tiles could tell stories
‘A grand job’ – architect revisits the baths that were central to his family life for generations
Published: 29 July, 2010
by RICHARD OSLEY
AN architect with one of the closest connections to the Kentish Town Baths has given its glittering refurbishment the thumbs up.
Peter Peneth’s parents first met at the pool in Prince of Wales Road; he learned to swim there in the 1930s; his mother and aunt taught swimming at the centre; and his grandfather was once the superintendent running the pool.
Invited to see how a £25 million scheme had guaranteed the future of the Victorian baths, Mr Peneth said yesterday (Wednesday) the council had done a “grand job”.
The pool, officially known as Kentish Town Sports Centre but known locally as the Prince of Wales Baths, re-opened to the public on Monday morning after the three-year restoration project.
The building’s long history dominates Mr Peneth’s family’s life. H.F. Hancock, his grandfather, was in charge alongside his wife Jenny – she took the title of Matron of the Baths – in the years after the First World War.
As a boy, Mr Peneth lived in a flat on the site.
“You could hear the gurgling of water running through the building,” he said. “On Sunday night, after it was closed and they had scrubbed it down, I would be able to come down with my toy boats and put them in the pool as the water was swilled back in.
“They had filters but it was only cleaned out once a week.”
He remembered how his grandfather was determined to open up the Baths to schools and, on Sundays, invited those wounded in war and recovering in a hospital in Richmond to use them.
Mr Peneth said: “I think my grandfather was quite a go-ahead bloke who was interested in the welfare issues of the day. There were chaps who had been mutilated – they had lost arms and legs – but they were still jumping in off springboards.
“It was a very popular place. In the winter, boards would be placed across one of the baths and we would have dances, and sometimes there would be boxing.”
He added: “One of the little rows my grandparents had was when they introduced mixed swimming – this was only 10 years or so after the Suffragettes. My grandfather thought it was a good idea but my grandmother wasn’t convinced.”
The family album includes the behind-the-scenes snap of Mr Peneth’s mother, Aileen, jumping into the pool as a young girl. She met his father, Jacques, a musician living in Kentish Town, while they were both there swimming.
“Swimming baths ran in my family,” he said. “My mother’s sister was also a swimming teacher and her brother Jack went on to run baths in Bristol.
“I have happy memories of Kentish Town. I remember going into the washroom when little boys really shouldn’t have, where women were washing linen for people living in Hampstead. You saw women with tattoos – and they usually marked which ship their husbands were on.”
Mr Peneth, a former pupil of Carlton School who now lives in Harrow, said he recalled a toffee factory and blacksmith’s in nearby buildings – both of which did not stand the test of time.
He said: “There is always a pressure from developers to knock buildings like this down. This project got through on the skin of its teeth as the recession means that councils won’t be doing things like this now.
“They really have done a grand job.”
He said his only regret was that a balcony overlooking a pool could not be made safe for the public to use and has been retained only for decorative purposes.
Labour’s leisure chief Councillor Tulip Siddiq said: “These fascinating photos of Mr Peneth’s grandparents show what a great history Kentish Town Sports Centre has had.
“Not only is it now a great sports facility and community hub for local people, it continues to be a proud and wonderful part of Camden’s history.”
Under-16s can use the Prince of Wales Baths free of charge throughout the summer holidays.