IT is 100 years since the foundation stone was laid and since then Glasgow's last remaining bath house has seen hundreds of changes.

 

From swimming galas to a make shift World War II morgue, a place for brides to dress on their wedding day to a protest space and theatre, Govanhill Baths has seen it all.

Now its centenary celebration is being marked with a new exhibition - turning the building into something else new: a temporary museum.

Archivist Paula Larkin said: "I'm really excited about this project and about the launch because this is a permanent archive that will not only celebrate the Baths and its history but also provide an important focal point for the community.

"It has been really interesting to delve through the history of the Baths and discover all the fascinating items left behind when the pool was closed as well as those things handed in to us by members of the public.

"We have had beautiful old swimming gala trophies handed in, which are all different and very unusual, as well as an old log book from a man who had it up in his loft and gifted it to us."

It was on July 3, 1914, that Sir Daniel Macaulay Stevenson, the then-Lord Provost of Glasgow, opened Govanhill Baths on Calder Street.

Baillie Sloan, who was convener of the Baths Committee, presented the Lord Provost with a silver trowel to mark the occasion.

Two local councillors placed a time capsule into the cavity of a stone that was put in position in the building before a celebratory lunch was held in the City Chambers.

The building - housing a washhouse and three pools - along with the ground cost £13,000.

In addition to the three swimming pools there was a steamie - a wash house - at the back of the building that was later converted to a laundrette in 1971.

Many Govanhill tenements did not have indoor bathrooms, some until the 1970s, and so people would wash in the hot baths upstairs in the building.

Sometimes brides would be seen hanging their wedding dresses up to steam out the creases and preparing for their day.

In its heyday Govanhill Baths housed three swimming pools. The main pool had a seating gallery for spectators to watch the many events and galas held in the venue.

The closure of Govanhill Baths was announced in the Evening Times on January 6, 2001.

Rumours had been circulating for more than a year that the council had plans to shut the building.

Finally council leader Charlie Gordon admitted the decision in this paper, saying it would close on March 23.

Local people, however, were not prepared to let the much-loved pool go without a fight.

And fight they did - Save Our Pool - Southside Against Closure (SAC) Community Action Group was formed with weekly meetings taking place to try to find a solution.

Some 30,000 people signed a petition to keep the baths open one thousand came out to march in its defence.

On March 21, after Mr Gordon refused to meet with SAC, the protesters moved in.

Those behind the occupation went for a final swim and then chained themselves to changing cubicles, telling staff to leave.

They remained inside the building until August 7 when a dawn raid by police and council officers saw them removed.

But the fighting spirit lived on and in 2003 the Govanhill Baths Community Trust was formed to take the Baths into a new era.

Today those who have worked tirelessly to keep the building occupied and in use for the community will gather to celebrate their efforts.

A permanent archive has been set up in the Baths to preserve historic artifacts from the building for the public.

And a new book has been launched - United We Will Swim: 100 Years of Govanhill Baths - documents the rich history of the venue and community it serves.

United We Will Swim features seven essays looking at the Baths' importance as a community resource, historic building, creative hub and the grassroots campaign to save it.

Volunteers, led by Paula, have worked to create the Baths' archive to reflect each different chapter in the venue's rich history.

Scouring the building, Paula has collected old carbolic soap from before the closure as well as signs, posters, a ticketing machine and clocks from when the pool functioned.

Along with physical objects Paula has been collecting anecdotes from local people, which are recorded and will be available to hear on a website dedicated to the archive.

And as well as looking at the past, it looks forward to plans to turn the space into a Wellbeing Centre to benefit the local community.

Baths sponsors NORD Architecture designed the archive space, which will be a permanent fixture with photographs, objects and documents.

The exhibition will also feature a display of press reports from the Evening Times and our sister paper, The Herald.

Tonight, [THURS], Glasgow Museums will be returning, for one night, the ceremonial trowel given to Lord McCauley on the event of the laying of the foundation stone in 1914.

Paula added: "I think that will be really emotional, to see the object that really started everything off.

"These objects connect people to the history of the Baths which, for local people, is their own history too.

"They provide a real link between the past and the present and help us to think about what the future might hold for Govanhill Baths too."