'I went there every day of the holidays'

Memories of happy times at much-missed baths

- SOPHIE HALLE-RICHARDS AND LEE GRIMSDITCH

FROM the exquisite restoration of the Victoria Baths in Chorlton to the magnificent Withington baths, efforts are often made to preserve swimming baths built in the Victorian or Edwardian eras.

But one striking modernist example once stood out next to the Dutchroof council houses lining the estate in Wythenshawe. Sharston Baths, with its impressive concrete panelling and tall glass windows, were a sight to behold from the M56 motorway. However, the baths were more than just an architectural marvel they were a source of countless memories for youngsters growing up in Wythenshawe, from bracing cold showers to towering concrete diving platforms.

Built by Manchester council in 1959, Sharston Baths boasted the allure of a 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool intended to draw in training athletes, along with diving boards and 800 viewing seats.

The designs were the brainchild of city architect Leonard Cecil Howit), whose portfolio includes Manchester Crown Court, the Toast Rack building at Manchester University, and Blackley Crematorium.

Despite rumours that the finished pool fell short of 'Olympic' size, locals flocked to the baths come rain or shine, undeterred by the icy showers.

When the M.E.N. last wrote about Sharston Baths, Carl Buckley, reflecting on his childhood times there, said: "I went every single day in the summer holidays and sometimes twice.

"Me and my mate Jeff rode on the same bike from Peel Hall to Sharston Baths and stayed for as long as the lifeguards would allow. Then we got oxtail soup from the vending machine - two cups if we had a stray penny in the lockers. Year after year. Great memories."