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An unusual view of the baths at the rear of the Sydenham's building. This is looking from Bath Rd, and the pier is visible in the background.

The original single storey baths stood on the site from 1838 until 1864.

The above building was opened in 1865, the south facing part of which, was a boarding house called The Baths.
The sign is referring to the extension of the baths that will incorporate a new swimming pool, the royal jubilee mentioned is that of Queen Victoria in 1887.

Public baths became popular in Victorian Britain as good personal hygiene became linked with better health. In cities with large numbers of poor, it would be quite normal for whole families to go for their weekly bath, share the water, and take the dirty laundry in with them.
In Bournemouth, a new and expanding town, there were no slums, but the baths would still have been well used and it would be many years before homes had their own bathrooms.
If you were a wealthy family renting one of the large villas, then you would probably have a servant to prepare a hot bath in the front of a roaring fire in the comfort of your own home. Likewise, if you were a guest at one of the larger hotels, no doubt a bath could probably be arranged in your room. Infact the proprietors of the baths even advertised that they would deliver hot and cold sea water to any part of town.
For the rest, or at least those not taking a tin bath in the back yard, there was the public baths, where a wide range of baths were offered, from Russian, Turkish, steam, vapour, scented, sea water and douches.
The extension to the above baths were to include a 75 x 30 foot pool to meet the needs of those gripped by the new Victorian appetite for swimming.
The extended baths opened in the late 1880s and resulted in a distinctive roofline at this corner of the building, easily distinguished as it had the words 'baths' painted on it, vertically and horizontally, in large white letters. This from an 1893 town guide....
" The baths are well arranged, complete, and convenient, the building itself, adjoining the Library, is fitted up with every accommodation for hot, cold and vapour baths, those for ladies and gentlemen being in seperate buildings; and in connection with the latter is a very commodious swimming bath 75 feet by 30 feet, with a supply of some 75,000 gallons of tepid sea water. The swimming bath is alloted to ladies at stipulated times."

In 1937 the Pier Approach Baths opened on the site and is probably best remembered for its large pool, although other baths, such as those offered in the above building, were also available, thus ensuring that public baths continued in Bournemouth until 1984.
The closest we have to public baths today, now that all homes have bathrooms, will be the various saunas, steam rooms, showers and plunge pools on offer in leisure centres and clubs across town.

Immediately on the left, out of view, is Marlborough House, a boarding establishment that changed its name to Seabourne House in 1900.

until i get my internet set up at the university:D i'm flying to england tomorrow afternoon via british airways AND we are landing in heathrow. with all the recent events the thought of going there is most certainly not comforting. anyway, i'm buying everything and moving into my room on friday so i will hopefully have the internet set up then or in the next few days. the awesome news is that the cost of internet is included in the accommodation fees so i won't have to pay shitloads for traffic like i do here. and the bad news is that i won't have my lovely little server with almost any music i need. the one i use is only accessible if you use that particular ISP :( ah well. i seriously feel like i am being kicked out of the house. i have a hugeass suitcase and 2 heavyass big bags. my head is buzzing from packing *bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

*good points about going to uni

-i MAY develop alcohol tolerance. currently, i have none :)
-cigarettes are very expensive in england so i'll stop my occasional smoking coz it's just gross
-i'll learn how to cook *cracks up* maybe....
-i'll get to work with professional photo and video equipment in studios
-i'll be around people who are just as insane as i am :D
-bournemouth has a huge gay population. fag hags like me are happy there *feels loved already*
-i'll be relatively close to my friend danny . he lives on the other side of the country but we will still visit each other when we can :D
-many more points ;)

*bad points about going to uni

-since i will be living away from family my tobbacco consumption may grow as there are ciggies at duty free (someone, please yell at me and make me stop lol)
-my diet will change entirely. i'll either turn vegetarian and eat only fresh fruit and things that don't need to be cooked or i will take over KFC/other takeaways
-i'm gonna have a single bed that i am not used to. whenever i sleep on single beds i roll off at night lmao. it's ridiculous
-i won't be able to speak ukrainian and russian there *sob* after a while of not speaking it i feel like i am slowly going insane

in spite of the bad points this will still be a great experience because i really need the change. i really miss people from school already but i can't afford to do that because my friends have always been moving away sooner or later. i am really really hoping that i will improve in photography and finally learn film and animation. the photography part is just for myself and it will certainly be helpful in my BA degree which i am going to start after i finish this foundation course. i don't want to be a professional photographer :)

thank you all so much for the encouragement, support and inspiration for the past few years that i've been around here :D it really means a lot to me *hug* i'm ready to take the plunge!