BETWEEN 1866 and 1926 discussions took place about building a public swimming baths in Bingley.
Proposed sites were the Prince of Wales Park and Bingley Ladies Teacher Training College.
Whilst a Turkish bath and slipper baths were provided in the basement of the then Town Hall (now Library Taps) in 1892, there were no swimming baths in Bingley until 1927.
Swimming galas had however been organised by the newly formed Bingley Swimming Club in 1912,1913 and 1914.
These were held in the River Aire at the bottom meadow in Myrtle Park
In 1924, Bingley Urban District Council discussed the possibility of borrowing £27,000 to build a new baths in Bingley.
The Clerk to Bingley UDC said swimming baths were urgently needed in the town because swimmers had to travel to Keighley on one hand or Shipley on the other. More than 1,800 school children and college students per week were having to doing so.
The proposed new building combined a public hall for winter use and a swimming pool for summer use.
A maple sprung dance floor was suggested, which would be fitted over the pool in October each year and removed in April the next year. This would make the facility available all the year round.
The expenditure was eventually agreed and the hall and swimming bath were built in Myrtle Grove.
The building was named the Princess Hall after Princess Mary, the wife of the Earl of Harewood, who opened it in November 1927.
The swimming baths opened in April 1928. Slipper baths were also located in the basement and the facility also provided state of the art sun ray, medical, electrical and heat treatments.
* Swimming Events and Exhibitions:
Bingley Swimming Club held its first swimming gala in September 1928 and this became a regular feature over the years.
The baths also hosted water polo matches and exhibitions of swimming and diving by Olympic and World champions. However the diving boards were eventually removed on health and safety grounds when it was realised that the highest diving board was five metres and the pool was only two metres at its deep end!
* Centre for Medical and Curative Treatments:
Whilst treatments were available to local residents, they were also used by sportsmen for remedial massage and sporting injuries.
Amongst those were Yorkshire and England cricketers Len Hutton and Bill Bowes and members of the Australian and South African Test teams.
* Princess Hall:
As a main venue in the centre of Bingley, Princess Hall was a much used facility between its opening in 1927 and its closure after 55 years in October 1972.
During this time amongst events held there were: weddings, balls, dinner dances, exhibitions and displays, civic events, fundraising activities, plays, musicals and fashion shows to name but a few.
Latterly it was popular with teenagers for its Friday and Saturday night dances.
* Nothing was Wasted in Bingley !
In November 1960 the Myrtle Cinema in Bingley closed down and a number of five seat rows of gold plush fabric tip-up chairs were bought by the Princess Hall. These were either placed round the edge of the hall when dances were being held or used as main seating in the hall when shows were being held.
* What Happened to the Dance Floor?
The dance floor took 10 working days to take up or lay over the swimming pool, which was a mammoth task for staff. Some remnants of the maple floor were transferred to Bingley Little Theatre.
* Swimming Club and Lifesaving Club:
Bingley Swimming Club was founded in 1912 and Bingley Lifesaving club was formed in 1970.
Both still have an active membership but since the pool closed in 2020 they have had to find alternative venues locally, hopefully these are temporary arrangements.
* Individual Contributions:
This article has highlighted the building of the hall and swimming pool but has not featured the many local people who have worked at and volunteered at the pool over the years.
Generations of Bingley residents owe their ability to swim to specific individuals, too many to name individually.
However in my book Bingley Baths - A Lasting Legacy I have attempted to identify some of those named most often by local people.
Copies are available from Luscombes in Bingley.
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