The building also had a learners pool below the main pool. I know, I did some of my early swimming there. It was a fantastic facility - Blackpool Schools Swimming Galas were held there, and Blackpool & Fylde Scouts Swimming Gala. 16ft at the deep end. The real issue was that it was expensive to run, and had relatively low usage. Certainly not enough to cover costs. They did add slides at some point but eventually the council, literally, pulled the plug. It left Blackpool with the Lido on Lytham Road as the only public swimming pool. It gets added to the long list of stupid, boneheaded decisions made by Blackpool Council. It's one public service that should be supported, even if it runs at a loss. The twats actually deliberately let it fall into some disrepair so that even if an argument was made to keep it running, they could say that it would be too expensive to bring back up to operational standards. Utter wankers. Never mind the architectural significance of the building which today would probably have protected status. Everytime I think of it closing, I think of it as a criminal act. Wankers.
My husband grew up in Blackool so can relate to everything you said! He learned to swim at the Lido then progressed to the Derby as a teenager. It was a beautiful Art Deco building
I went to Warbreck high school we had our swimming lesson there , I can remember the diving board looked a mile high one of my class mates jumped from it successfully , 1982 .
We went there from Warbeck and Claremont primary. Great stuff, although I was too young to really appreciate what it was. I tend to recall its closure being linked to the sandcastle pool complex and its financial woes. Real shame.
@@Buzzj4k Thanks for sharing that.... lovely memories. So wish it was still there. How much public money has been spent on extending the tramway a few hundred yards? A tiny part could have kept Derby Pool (it's correct name?) thriving......
Fylde a borough Council, St Annes and Lytham area just a few miles down the coast, are an equally feckless bunch of hypocritical cretins. Grant themselves planning permission for anything they want, even to the extent of removing the Town Hall from the Conservation area! I know it's a digression but have you seen the abortion they have built on the side of Lytham Crematorium?....if you want a laugh/cry then google what it cost
My dad taught me to swim in Derby baths also Cocker Street and the Lido. I never saw any cockroaches in Derby baths thankfully. As a child I was impressed by its grandeur. Thank you Stephen for reminding me of many happy childhood memories.
I was a member of the Blackpool swimming team at Cocker Street and also trained a the Derby Baths in the 1950s and 1960s several times a week so had a £3 contract...I never saw a cockroach. The council closed the Baths in the winter despite my protest letter in the Evening Gazette. I learned to swim in the small pool in the basement and also at the Lido.
Remember swimming there in County championships and watching GB v Australia in there. Great pool. First time I ever swam or seen a 50m pool. Seemed massive
I used to go,there in the 1960s...we used to walk around for miles especially in Summer..so sad to see few kids wandering around together like we did..my mother born in 1918 used to go to Cocker Street baths
@@anoshya I also went to the Cocker St baths my dad’s family lived in Cocker St I loved going to both baths Cocker and Derby super places to dive and swim
Yeah the swimming attendants used to blow the whistle to clear the pool below , so if you didn't dive everyone was watching. A lot just jumped which I believe you got a warning over . I went up just for a look but quickly climbed down to the third board that I was happy to dive off . 79 to 81 my fun years there , 12 to 14 years old I would've been.
Only just watched this. I regularly used to swim at Derby Baths. They were brilliant. 50m pool and diving boards. Really good for proper swimming. I used to have a good fry up after swimming or go to the chippy at the top on the opposite corner as you could sit in at the back - always very clean and good fish!. Blackpool used to be so good, so clean, friendly and everything. It has changed, just like the demographic...Thanks for your vids. Cheers!
Used to go here with Mum/Dad & Nan & Grandad, we came from Stafford.. I remember they had a Cafe/seating area with huge windows that looked into the pool itself, so you could see who was swimming & i remember trying to find mum & dad by looking into the windows when swimming.. I also remember that when someone wanted to dive from the top board, the lifeguard would blow a whistle & point to the person jumping and everyone would watch.. I remember the water chutes too...so many good memories of the place
I always wondered about those windows and what was behind them?. I wonder why they closed that cafe? Also, how did you get to it from the Foyer? Was the pool well lit? Were there two levels at the deep end?
Lovely video on the Derby baths I learned to swim 🏊🏻♀️ there many years ago 😁 lovely views of the Lake District as well Thank you for a very nice look around 👍 stay safe & keep well Pauline from Blackpool living in Canada 🍁
Those old pics take me back to childhood holidays. If the weather was dry we sometimes went to the enormous open air pool where they later built the Sandcastle. The water was invariably Baltic, lol.
They knocked that beautiful building down for that monstrosity of a hotel we've Lost so many great architectural buildings over the country great video again Stephen
Saying hello again . I bumped into you when you was filming this . I only live around the corner but im from Manchester . Ive often thought the art deco arch ways and columns on the lower promenade need painting and restoring it looks shabby and probably used to look great . They would've been built at the same time as the baths . Watching your videos I've learnt a bit of history of Blackpool and I love the panoramic views you capture. Keep it up mate I never get bored watching your films .
wow. loved Derby baths so many good memories of swimming there with family and friends. The sea water was amazing use to love the way the water would froth up when you jumped in due to the salt. The highest diving board I have ever seen. people used to climb to the top then the attendant would blow a whistle and everyone would stop and watch as people dived off. I never saw any cock roaches it was pretty clean. A massively impressive building. Remember running around the back of the stands and in the corridors very exciting place. Great videos nice to see someone who is so proud of Blackpool.
Enjoyable video. Used to use the Derby Baths regularly in the sixties when I stayed at the Bracondale, in Warley Road. Even jumped off the high platform. When looking north, it is impossible to see Wales. You can see the Barrow peninsula in a good day.
My mum absolutely adored Johnny all her life. She saw him at Derby baths as a teenager. We still have a picture of him in her bedroom now. She was 84 when we lost her. . Xx💋♥️
Great work again mate - I remember my mum & dad talking about Derby Baths as a young boy on our many holidays to Blackpool but can never remember seeing the building until today, so thank you for showing me that once magnificent building - keep up the excellent work Stephen - stay safe - Dave.
This site is a few blocks away from my house on Warley Road. I never knew that such a large and impressive building fitted onto that grassy plot ; thanks for the enlightenment. What a shame - a cracking Art Deco design.
just wanted to say how much I enjoy your video's, I was born in Blackpool in 69 (I moved away in 88) and it a surprise how much it's. changed. I saw the Wilco videos and remember going there when it was fine fare. I can remember the Kids from Fame staying in the Pembroke in the early 80s and getting arrested at the age of 13 in the Gynn underground Toilets 🤪 Keep up the good work x
I remember it well as a child and I must admit I didn't really like going! The freezing cold salt water was horrible and it wasn't a place I asked to go back to. I'm nearly 54 and visited Blackpool from Salford often and still love the town but that pool was not a good memory.... Great video as ever. It's just come back to me also that a few years before the building disappeared they had created water tubes that actually extruded from the outside of the building which must of been cool to ride in!
I remember me and my brother walking with my dad from the boarding house in Lord St, every morning towel rolled up under arm to go and swim in the Derby baths. Great start to the day. Ha! Vosene shampoo sachets were about 5p. Happy days
I remember Derby Baths quite well. Only started going there when they installed the slides. There were very public accusations of impropriety over the closure. Ultimately someone or some group really, really wanted the Sandcastle to happen and there wasn't room for both. I remember the Pembroke being built. At the time there didn't seem to be much call for it. Blackpool was already in decline. I remember a few mentions of it having been originally designed as a car park but something happened. No idea about the truth of that.
I thought it had 2 huge slides on the outside of the building. I've googled but unable to find any images. Started to think I'd imagined them. Wasn't one called the black hole?
what a beautiful building......should and could have been preserved. we have many lovely historic buildings here in bournemouth either gone or under threat. great channel....wish we had you in bournemouth...thinking of doing a few local vids myself but wouldnt know where to start...!
Do what i did. Just go out with your camera or phone and do a little video looking at a certain area which might be interesting. Upload it to TH-cam and see how many views you get.
@@rocknchips1342 I visited Bournemouth last year for the first time while I was doing some work on the south coast. I also visited Torquay. Did one of my vlogs there too and it did pretty well after being shared on a local Facebook group.
@@AWalkontheWildSideBlackpoolyes we have a Bournemouth history Facebook group which will be a good platform to get some interest. I have a few ideas for short vids,. Trams, entertainment through the years, tuberculosis town etc,😮..... will only be armed with a phone cam initially and hopefully it will be editable! Recently stumbled on your channel and enjoying it loads👍
Another great video sir. I’m pleased to see the former buildings again and what it was like as per the Star in the previous video. Keep them coming sir.. 👍
My father in law used to tell a story of About Tarzan ..Johny Wiesmuller ...apparently he dived for the top board and then without surfacing swam a full length underwater to a cheering full audience ....in the early 1950s me thinks ......
Excellent video..we stayed on holidays in the 80s around in Warbreck Hill Rd ..from Dublin..and went to the slides that were there..I think one was called the black hole ..very old baths by then .
Hi its Jeffery the man in the tent in the van you brought back some good memories when we were going to the derby baths I would go to school because I loved going the diving bord was so high thay wood say if you would land on your beley your beley would split open I never tried its Asham love the memory lane thank you
Splashland!! Anyone remember that , my dad took me there in 1984 just after buying me pair of Hi-tec Silver Shadow trainers from a market near Bond street. I thought i was running on air and it was the first brand trainers i had ever got. My dad had got a job on the rigs in northern Scotland and was earning for the first time in a few years of unemployment. He decided that since i was 14 , we should have a lads holiday. Hotdogs, burgers , candy floss, it was pure luxury and i thought he was a millionaire when he showed me a roll of money that he had. It was probably £200 but i had never seen that much money. We stayed at the Leopold hotel near the Winter Gardens and it had a sauna. Here is me and dad in a sauna with me thinking we were rich and famous. Jeez that was the best time i ever spent with my dad in 84. He died of bowel cancer not long after that holiday and i can remember him having stomach pains and saying it was all this rich Blackpool junk we were eating. Men in general don't talk or get help. He died at age 42. Jeez just writing that made me feel quite emotional , even after all of these years. I wonder if he knew and he wanted to create a memory. He never said and he slipped away after a long battle that stripped him to the bone. Im so glad you make these videos xx
Wow! What a great story, but with a tragic end. 42 is such a young age to pass away. It does sound to me like he wanted to live for the moment and take you along for the ride.
Such a shame they demolished such an iconic building especially as they never rebuilt on the land. Went many times with my kids back in the 80s and was nice to hear a bit of history from you about it . top video as always. 👍👍
This always fascinated us but didn't realise it was up the top, for some reason thought it was where the newer splash pool and flume is at the Pleasure Beach. What a lovely building and pool it was, like a 1930s airport building, so fresh and crisp looking. You probably had some people with no washing facilities using the pool at that time hence the cockroaches! 😱 Those 2 pipes definitely look like either intake or flushing pipes as it is the same kind of set up at the Jubilee Lido in Penzance that we used everyday whilst living there. Such a shame Derby Baths was destroyed, what a history with who swam there. Thank you for this great video it was fascinating. Also you've answered the two pieces of land visible on clear days; Wales to the west and the Lake District to the right I wondered.
Thanks Caroline. It's a real shame the baths were demolished. I never took any notice of them when they were there as I was not a fan of swimming, but doing the research for this video, I have fallen in love with the place even though I never knew it. Yes I could see Wales and Cumbria out there today. The views from our promenade are amazing.
The Border City swimming club from Carlisle used to run a week long swimming camp to the Derby Baths in the 1970’s, after a couple of sessions in the sea water pool your eyes were toast for the rest of the week, thank goodness for Optrex eye drops. We stayed in a b&b just a couple of buildings to the north of the baths, maybe two b&bs as there were quite a few of us.
Spot on mate wanted to yodel when you mentioned Tarsan I saw him dive off the Olympic board they ruffled the water so he could see it....Chet that was on a lead happy times...so many memories big thanx loved the snap shot
Love your videos - lived in Blackpool for my 1st 20 odd years - now nearly 80 so there’s been more than a few changes, and not all for the best. Keep them coming.
As mentioned below, the slides were awesome as a kid and that high diving board was incredible. Why they at least didn't turn it into apartments like they did with Lytham baths !
Thanks for the excellent video and it brought back many memories of great times at Derby Baths. Living locally and during my school summer holidays I would be at the baths several times a week. I recall that friends and myself would buy a season pass or similar. During this period the place was always clean and well kept, I would say that at the time it was a prestigious swimming baths. I am sure the Derby baths pool water was not sea water, just treated filtered water, and in comparison to the pool water used in the open air baths (South Shore), Derby baths was like a hot tub. I remember the Cocker St baths water being colder than Derby, and Lido baths having to much chlorine in it. The pool depth went from 3ft - 5ft - 7ft - 16ft As you looked toward the 16ft end, the diving boards were from the left, small spring board approx 2ft high, 2nd board with a spring board approx 10ft high, 3rd board approx 15ft high, and top board approx 30ft high. As you worked your way up the boards, they were incrementally higher but from 3rd board to the top board was double the height and a leap of faith. I don’t think the pipes you showed at the edge of the beach are linked in anyway to Derby baths, but I was told that originally there was a tunnel from the Imperial hotel downstairs kitchen area, out to what I would call the middle prom (under the tram tracks). I believe this was used to deliver food for the hotel during its hayday, and was the reason the security services would occupy the middle prom during political party conferences (Maggie Thatcher era). The tunnel was a secure route out. Thanks again for the video.
Hi Stephen thank you for another great video as always that was very interesting good to know the history seems like quite a few famous people went there looked like a nice building take care xx
Your becoming one of my favourite TH-camrs, fantastic knowledge of Blackpool and all its local history. Really looking forward to many more of your informative videos of such a great resort 👍
I used to go to the Blackpool Derby baths with dad from Preston often in the 1980s usually on a Sunday. There was also the open air baths that was replaced with the Sandcastle in 1986. Do you also remember the Pleasure Beach Fun House with compulsory stockingfeet rules, and that mad laughing clown, another place we love going to. These buildings have sadly been destroyed and never been rebuilt.
Excellent video here about the Derby Baths, may well have to ask members of my family if they ever swam there during visits to Blackpool, certainly before I was born and maybe a little afterwards too :) Such a shame, as you said on the video, about the building being demolished - typical mad local council decision. We had a similar controversy in the town of Bedford, where a much-loved town cinema was demolished despite it being rather good for movie-watching and being well-attended and used too. In the cinema's place a Lidl store was built, at least that replaced the waste ground immediately after demolition, but the area was never the same since.
Having lived in slums cockroaches where two a penny along with black beetles. Most of the old big building in Blackpool with heat in the bottom have cockroaches and Crickets. If you wander down there in the evenings when the lights are dim it can sound like the jungle. I'm famous and learned to swim in Derby baths, well famous in my own bubble anyway. Norbreck Hotel pool was much smaller but was also much warmer. Montgomery School in Bispham held it's swimming Gala there every year.
I used to ride my bike from Thornton most days the baths were open,even went off the 10 metre board a few times.The famous Charlie Caroli lived just up Warley Rd, saw him leaving for work acouple of times.
I always wondered how it was called the 'Derby Baths' thought too much out the box! So it was named after the street, how simple is that, you're a mind of information. Great to see your before and after shot of the site adds depth (no pun intended) to the story.
There's a bit more to.it than that. Lord Derby is of the Stanley family. Hence Stanley Park. They had many close connections to the town and they still do The present Lord Derby opened the Stanley Park visitors centre and was also here for one of the park's special anniversaries ( ninetieth I think), a few years ago, recreating the opening ceremony that his grandfather had performed in 1926.
Never saw it as it was. I came here to Blackpool in 2001. Long after it went. Have lots of friends who remember it. Art deco wonder. It was beautiful x
Another great video, it brought back some great memories. My heart sank when I saw that the baths had been demolished, deciding with friends which baths to go to, The Derby, The Lido or Cocker Street. I haven't been back 'home for years', it's time for a return visit. I want to walk down the street where we lived, and get into town and see if my favourite shops are still there.
Wow Stephen real bit of history hear remembered it boy history itself remembered my friends in Blackpool telling the sadness of its close pity it couldn’t be persevered great video Stephen
We used to go to Blackpool on September weekends .In Scotland Glasgow is 3rd Monday and Edinburgh second .You could go to Blackpool and meet people you had not seen for ages back home wandering down the Golden Mile . My kids used to go to the Derby Baths .They were as you say huge . Great place and shame they were knocked down. The red brick hotel building was as you say then The Pembroke .It was new I think late seventies . i last went to Blackpool in 2001 for The Open at Royal Lytham St Annes and stayed in the hotel .It was then the Blackpool Hilton and very nice it was .I notice now it`s been taken over and called The Grand .At the 1996 Open we stayed in The Imperial .They used to have the Labour & Tory high archy staying there when they went to Blackpool for their conferences . I remember when at The Hilton going for a dip in the pool and then having a shower .This big amazon of a woman came into shower and turned it cold .I shrieked that`s too cold ! She replied what are you man ,a wimp ! Next again day at breakfast I spotted her .She was with her husband ........................the golfer Sandy Lyle !! Love your videos .Nice to see Blackpool .It`s now 20 years since I was there !
I love the learning about the history of towns and cities. The way you describe everything makes me feel as if I am really there. Art Deco buildings always look so grand, the demolished a beautiful building and now there is just a vacant plot of ground. In East London, South Africa the minute a building is demolished the vacant ground ends up looking like a bladdy refuse tip sight. Everyone goes and dumps all their shite there.
If you wanted cold water, go to the open air pool, the sandcastle was built over it. It’s a Knockout was filmed their. Got my entrance fee back because friends and I cleared the props from the bottom of the pool. Derby baths also had a sauna and gym, happy Saturday afternoons.
Great video Stephen, never seen the baths . The photo is amazing, must of been a site in yellow in its day. My mum's cousin used to be the sguire of Blackpool and lived at mains hall . Cheers
Subscribed 🙂 Thank the TH-cam recommendations 🙌 I'll admit I binge watched a lot of your videos early this morning - maybe 5-6 hours worth. Would love a few videos on transport in Blackpool. Like train station, bus and maybe the buildings. Shout for the Christmas lights in 4K. Looked great on my 4K TV. One last thing, the overall quality is superb. Look forward to more videos 🙌
Thanks for that. I suppose I could binge watch them myself as I do have quite a lot of stuff on there, and it is a pretty wide range. I did well with the 4k Illuminations video and was glad it chucked it down as it made for better reflections and general atmosphere. I had to use my dslr for that with it's rain cover.
It also had a 10 metre square learners pool. Also the building adjoinong to the rear, towards Dickson rd, was the Turkish Sauna baths. The site where the Grand (Hilton, Pembroke) now sits, was the former North Shore rock gardens, similar to the Gynn Sq gardens, sunken at the front and elevating to the east.
It looks like theres still some remnants of the left hand side entrance way (the raised in-shot off the path at the top end), I love art deco buildings,such a shame that soo many are now gone
I think what you mean is the electrical substation that was built into the building that dealt with all the electrical Infrastructure, but served some other consumers in the area too. So when the building was demolished, they had to keep that as it would be too problematic to shut down and replace That's how I was advised it was to be the case anyway. Cheers.
Remember going there as a kid , water was always bloody freezing until you had been in a while , remember a number of diving boards , the shallow end wasn't very shallow , far too many deep bits for me as a kid
I used to go The Derby Bath when I as child on the tram from Fleetwood in the late sixties and early seventies from ,we used get in around the Side of the Bath but never get in at the front from Wyre Tom
Thanks. Wonderful video that evokes good memories. I swam there, competitively, in the mid 80s during the British National Championships. What a travesty that they knocked it down.
So informative! I visit Blackpool regularly and had often thought that plot of land somewhat curious? I now have the answer, thanks to you my friend. I too love art deco, how could any council, in the right mind, demolish such an iconic building with a great history? Please keep the vids coming, it's a great education for me!
Yeah shocking Paul. At least the Midland hotel (beautiful art deco) in Morecambe was eventually saved and restored to probably better than it's former glory,after being a ruin for many years.Only problem with that is that something needs doing with the rest of Morecambe,but Lancaster council couldn't give a damn!!!
I read on a Blackpool news page on Facebook last week , about an underground subway? I never even knew Blackpool had a subway, the article showed some photos of it all abandoned , but apparently it going to be getting filled in . Would be good to see where abouts the old subways used to be , it’s crazy to think I’ve walked the pavements of the prom and not even realised what was beneath my feet!
I only remember the underground toilets somewhere near central pier Claire. I hated going down there as a kid,and would do my best to hold on till we got back to our hotel!
@@claireturnbull917 I'm guessing the turn of the Millennium is when they started to close all the underground toilets & subways. They were a magnet for lewd behaviour & alcoholics.
The council’s back then were brainless that building would have been fantastic today, they destroyed most beautiful buildings over Britain when they should have been saving them as there our heritage, great vid 👍
I an my family used to go swimming here on our holidays I always remember my younger sister couldn't swim so we got her a float ring and it was her first time in any baths...I told her to jump into the ring, she went straight through it and came up crying she wouldn't go in again. I will never forget that memory, at the Derby Baths. hahaha.
Roaches doing the backstroke alongside a human is my next nightmare!
Great video
Imagine demolishing that beautiful Art Deco building Absolutely criminal.😡
It was shit anyway
Must admit the old baths did look impressive - such a pity it was knocked down - Art Deco is a nice look !
Looks like shit
The building also had a learners pool below the main pool. I know, I did some of my early swimming there. It was a fantastic facility - Blackpool Schools Swimming Galas were held there, and Blackpool & Fylde Scouts Swimming Gala. 16ft at the deep end. The real issue was that it was expensive to run, and had relatively low usage. Certainly not enough to cover costs. They did add slides at some point but eventually the council, literally, pulled the plug. It left Blackpool with the Lido on Lytham Road as the only public swimming pool.
It gets added to the long list of stupid, boneheaded decisions made by Blackpool Council. It's one public service that should be supported, even if it runs at a loss. The twats actually deliberately let it fall into some disrepair so that even if an argument was made to keep it running, they could say that it would be too expensive to bring back up to operational standards. Utter wankers.
Never mind the architectural significance of the building which today would probably have protected status. Everytime I think of it closing, I think of it as a criminal act. Wankers.
My husband grew up in Blackool so can relate to everything you said! He learned to swim at the Lido then progressed to the Derby as a teenager. It was a beautiful Art Deco building
I went to Warbreck high school we had our swimming lesson there , I can remember the diving board looked a mile high one of my class mates jumped from it successfully , 1982 .
We went there from Warbeck and Claremont primary. Great stuff, although I was too young to really appreciate what it was. I tend to recall its closure being linked to the sandcastle pool complex and its financial woes. Real shame.
@@Buzzj4k Thanks for sharing that.... lovely memories. So wish it was still there. How much public money has been spent on extending the tramway a few hundred yards? A tiny part could have kept Derby Pool (it's correct name?) thriving......
Fylde a borough Council, St Annes and Lytham area just a few miles down the coast, are an equally feckless bunch of hypocritical cretins. Grant themselves planning permission for anything they want, even to the extent of removing the Town Hall from the Conservation area! I know it's a digression but have you seen the abortion they have built on the side of Lytham Crematorium?....if you want a laugh/cry then google what it cost
My dad taught me to swim in Derby baths also Cocker Street and the Lido. I never saw any cockroaches in Derby baths thankfully. As a child I was impressed by its grandeur. Thank you Stephen for reminding me of many happy childhood memories.
I was a member of the Blackpool swimming team at Cocker Street and also trained a the Derby Baths in the 1950s and 1960s several times a week so had a £3 contract...I never saw a cockroach. The council closed the Baths in the winter despite my protest letter in the Evening Gazette. I learned to swim in the small pool in the basement and also at the Lido.
Remember swimming there in County championships and watching GB v Australia in there. Great pool. First time I ever swam or seen a 50m pool. Seemed massive
I used to go,there in the 1960s...we used to walk around for miles especially in Summer..so sad to see few kids wandering around together like we did..my mother born in 1918 used to go to Cocker Street baths
@@anoshya I also went to the Cocker St baths my dad’s family lived in Cocker St I loved going to both baths Cocker and Derby super places to dive and swim
I remember in the 60's the Derby Baths featured numerous times on Grandstand on Saturday afternoons.
Remember going to Derby Baths 40 years ago, amazed when someone dived off the top board ,
Yeah the swimming attendants used to blow the whistle to clear the pool below , so if you didn't dive everyone was watching. A lot just jumped which I believe you got a warning over . I went up just for a look but quickly climbed down to the third board that I was happy to dive off . 79 to 81 my fun years there , 12 to 14 years old I would've been.
Only just watched this. I regularly used to swim at Derby Baths. They were brilliant. 50m pool and diving boards. Really good for proper swimming. I used to have a good fry up after swimming or go to the chippy at the top on the opposite corner as you could sit in at the back - always very clean and good fish!. Blackpool used to be so good, so clean, friendly and everything. It has changed, just like the demographic...Thanks for your vids. Cheers!
Used to go here with Mum/Dad & Nan & Grandad, we came from Stafford.. I remember they had a Cafe/seating area with huge windows that looked into the pool itself, so you could see who was swimming & i remember trying to find mum & dad by looking into the windows when swimming.. I also remember that when someone wanted to dive from the top board, the lifeguard would blow a whistle & point to the person jumping and everyone would watch.. I remember the water chutes too...so many good memories of the place
I hear the top board was the stuff of legends.
I remember the cafe my Mum used to sit and wait for my Dad and me happy days
I always wondered about those windows and what was behind them?. I wonder why they closed that cafe? Also, how did you get to it from the Foyer? Was the pool well lit? Were there two levels at the deep end?
Lovely video on the Derby baths I learned to swim 🏊🏻♀️ there many years ago 😁 lovely views of the Lake District as well Thank you for a very nice look around 👍 stay safe & keep well Pauline from Blackpool living in Canada 🍁
Those old pics take me back to childhood holidays. If the weather was dry we sometimes went to the enormous open air pool where they later built the Sandcastle. The water was invariably Baltic, lol.
They knocked that beautiful building down for that monstrosity of a hotel we've
Lost so many great architectural buildings over the country great video again Stephen
I remember the baths being really deep even in the shallow end. Never saw any cockroaches. Beautiful building
I so enjoy your tours ,if I ever get back down to Blackpool I shall have a look for all the places I've visited on your trips. Thanks again.
Saying hello again . I bumped into you when you was filming this . I only live around the corner but im from Manchester . Ive often thought the art deco arch ways and columns on the lower promenade need painting and restoring it looks shabby and probably used to look great . They would've been built at the same time as the baths . Watching your videos I've learnt a bit of history of Blackpool and I love the panoramic views you capture. Keep it up mate I never get bored watching your films .
You also get a cameo pal. Yes the Middle Walk Promenade could do with a spruce up.
Well I'm really enjoying the history of Blackpool .especially the Derby baths
I loved the Derby Baths in the 70's , I couldn't swim but I loved it anyway. The water was always so cold though.
wow. loved Derby baths so many good memories of swimming there with family and friends. The sea water was amazing use to love the way the water would froth up when you jumped in due to the salt. The highest diving board I have ever seen. people used to climb to the top then the attendant would blow a whistle and everyone would stop and watch as people dived off. I never saw any cock roaches it was pretty clean. A massively impressive building. Remember running around the back of the stands and in the corridors very exciting place. Great videos nice to see someone who is so proud of Blackpool.
Loved it as a kid in the 70’s. Great way to spend a wet and windy day.
A very interesting video really enjoy hearing the various stories on Blackpool. Keep up the good work 👍👍
The whistle! Going off the highest board. Thanks for that long-forgotten memory!
Enjoyable video. Used to use the Derby Baths regularly in the sixties when I stayed at the Bracondale, in Warley Road. Even jumped off the high platform. When looking north, it is impossible to see Wales. You can see the Barrow peninsula in a good day.
My mum absolutely adored Johnny all her life. She saw him at Derby baths as a teenager. We still have a picture of him in her bedroom now. She was 84 when we lost her. . Xx💋♥️
In the 60s I used to go for a Sauna, jacuzzi and a massage followed by Tea and toast in the relaxation room huge white towels. Fabulous
If I recall correctly, I was told as a child, that the front entrance on the prom was used to the opening ceremony then never used again.....
Great work again mate - I remember my mum & dad talking about Derby Baths as a young boy on our many holidays to Blackpool but can never remember seeing the building until today, so thank you for showing me that once magnificent building - keep up the excellent work Stephen - stay safe - Dave.
This site is a few blocks away from my house on Warley Road. I never knew that such a large and impressive building fitted onto that grassy plot ; thanks for the enlightenment. What a shame - a cracking Art Deco design.
O.M.G who allowed that beautiful building to go!!!! how very sad.
just wanted to say how much I enjoy your video's, I was born in Blackpool in 69 (I moved away in 88) and it a surprise how much it's. changed. I saw the Wilco videos and remember going there when it was fine fare. I can remember the Kids from Fame staying in the Pembroke in the early 80s and getting arrested at the age of 13 in the Gynn underground Toilets 🤪 Keep up the good work x
I remember it well as a child and I must admit I didn't really like going! The freezing cold salt water was horrible and it wasn't a place I asked to go back to. I'm nearly 54 and visited Blackpool from Salford often and still love the town but that pool was not a good memory.... Great video as ever.
It's just come back to me also that a few years before the building disappeared they had created water tubes that actually extruded from the outside of the building which must of been cool to ride in!
I remember me and my brother walking with my dad from the boarding house in Lord St, every morning towel rolled up under arm to go and swim in the Derby baths. Great start to the day. Ha! Vosene shampoo sachets were about 5p. Happy days
I remember swimming there and that diving board.....😬 The diving end was so deep that it would hurt your head/ears if you went down too far.
I remember Derby Baths quite well. Only started going there when they installed the slides.
There were very public accusations of impropriety over the closure. Ultimately someone or some group really, really wanted the Sandcastle to happen and there wasn't room for both.
I remember the Pembroke being built. At the time there didn't seem to be much call for it. Blackpool was already in decline. I remember a few mentions of it having been originally designed as a car park but something happened. No idea about the truth of that.
That sounds plausible, but surely they could have thought of another use for the building if not a public swimming pool.
really interesting vlog as always steve keep up the fantastic work you do for all your subscribers well done mate
I remember going there to see Johnny Wiessmuller(Tarzan) in the forties doing exhibition swimming
Wow he was my favourite Tarzan 👍
My mum was there too. She absolutely loved him xx💋♥️
@@Roscoe.P.Coldchain The ONLY Tarzan ♥️💋
Great video 👍. A lot of hidden history all over Blackpool. Some fantastic buildings hidden behind modern shop fronts/signs etc.
Thanks for this, i worked at derby baths for a few yrs in the 80s on the splashland slides, they queues went down the stairs, great times .
I thought it had 2 huge slides on the outside of the building. I've googled but unable to find any images. Started to think I'd imagined them.
Wasn't one called the black hole?
@@porkzero ye i think the other one was knucklebuster but i could be wrong it was a while back.
what a beautiful building......should and could have been preserved. we have many lovely historic buildings here in bournemouth either gone or under threat. great channel....wish we had you in bournemouth...thinking of doing a few local vids myself but wouldnt know where to start...!
Do what i did. Just go out with your camera or phone and do a little video looking at a certain area which might be interesting. Upload it to TH-cam and see how many views you get.
@@AWalkontheWildSideBlackpool thanks....i might just do that....theres some fascinating stuff in and around bournemouth.
@@rocknchips1342 I visited Bournemouth last year for the first time while I was doing some work on the south coast. I also visited Torquay. Did one of my vlogs there too and it did pretty well after being shared on a local Facebook group.
@@AWalkontheWildSideBlackpoolyes we have a Bournemouth history Facebook group which will be a good platform to get some interest. I have a few ideas for short vids,. Trams, entertainment through the years, tuberculosis town etc,😮..... will only be armed with a phone cam initially and hopefully it will be editable! Recently stumbled on your channel and enjoying it loads👍
Oh wow that baths was a large building. I wasn't expecting that. Great insightful video !
Thanks for the memory, I can't say I remember it quite so accurately as the photo, but I do remember it with much fondness.
Great video. I remember my parents taking me there a few times on our holidays in the late 50’s and early 60’s a real pity it’s gone now.
Another great video sir. I’m pleased to see the former buildings again and what it was like as per the Star in the previous video. Keep them coming sir.. 👍
My father in law used to tell a story of About Tarzan ..Johny Wiesmuller ...apparently he dived for the top board and then without surfacing swam a full length underwater to a cheering full audience ....in the early 1950s me thinks ......
Excellent video..we stayed on holidays in the 80s around in Warbreck Hill Rd ..from Dublin..and went to the slides that were there..I think one was called the black hole ..very old baths by then .
Hi its Jeffery the man in the tent in the van you brought back some good memories when we were going to the derby baths I would go to school because I loved going the diving bord was so high thay wood say if you would land on your beley your beley would split open I never tried its Asham love the memory lane thank you
Splashland!! Anyone remember that , my dad took me there in 1984 just after buying me pair of Hi-tec Silver Shadow trainers from a market near Bond street. I thought i was running on air and it was the first brand trainers i had ever got. My dad had got a job on the rigs in northern Scotland and was earning for the first time in a few years of unemployment. He decided that since i was 14 , we should have a lads holiday. Hotdogs, burgers , candy floss, it was pure luxury and i thought he was a millionaire when he showed me a roll of money that he had. It was probably £200 but i had never seen that much money.
We stayed at the Leopold hotel near the Winter Gardens and it had a sauna. Here is me and dad in a sauna with me thinking we were rich and famous.
Jeez that was the best time i ever spent with my dad in 84. He died of bowel cancer not long after that holiday and i can remember him having stomach pains and saying it was all this rich Blackpool junk we were eating. Men in general don't talk or get help. He died at age 42. Jeez just writing that made me feel quite emotional , even after all of these years. I wonder if he knew and he wanted to create a memory. He never said and he slipped away after a long battle that stripped him to the bone.
Im so glad you make these videos xx
Wow! What a great story, but with a tragic end. 42 is such a young age to pass away. It does sound to me like he wanted to live for the moment and take you along for the ride.
Such a shame they demolished such an iconic building especially as they never rebuilt on the land. Went many times with my kids back in the 80s and was nice to hear a bit of history from you about it . top video as always. 👍👍
This always fascinated us but didn't realise it was up the top, for some reason thought it was where the newer splash pool and flume is at the Pleasure Beach.
What a lovely building and pool it was, like a 1930s airport building, so fresh and crisp looking. You probably had some people with no washing facilities using the pool at that time hence the cockroaches! 😱
Those 2 pipes definitely look like either intake or flushing pipes as it is the same kind of set up at the Jubilee Lido in Penzance that we used everyday whilst living there.
Such a shame Derby Baths was destroyed, what a history with who swam there.
Thank you for this great video it was fascinating.
Also you've answered the two pieces of land visible on clear days; Wales to the west and the Lake District to the right I wondered.
Thanks Caroline. It's a real shame the baths were demolished. I never took any notice of them when they were there as I was not a fan of swimming, but doing the research for this video, I have fallen in love with the place even though I never knew it. Yes I could see Wales and Cumbria out there today. The views from our promenade are amazing.
The Border City swimming club from Carlisle used to run a week long swimming camp to the Derby Baths in the 1970’s, after a couple of sessions in the sea water pool your eyes were toast for the rest of the week, thank goodness for Optrex eye drops. We stayed in a b&b just a couple of buildings to the north of the baths, maybe two b&bs as there were quite a few of us.
Spot on mate wanted to yodel when you mentioned Tarsan I saw him dive off the Olympic board they ruffled the water so he could see it....Chet that was on a lead happy times...so many memories big thanx loved the snap shot
Love your videos - lived in Blackpool for my 1st 20 odd years - now nearly 80 so there’s been more than a few changes, and not all for the best. Keep them coming.
As mentioned below, the slides were awesome as a kid and that high diving board was incredible. Why they at least didn't turn it into apartments like they did with Lytham baths !
That would have been a good idea. I'm sure the property market was strong enough then.
Love watching your videos, Blackpool born and bred but living in Nova Scotia Canada. Makes me homesick but thanks
Glad you like them Jackie. Nova Scotia sounds like a nice place to be, but I bet it gets cold up there.
Thanks for the excellent video and it brought back many memories of great times at Derby Baths. Living locally and during my school summer holidays I would be at the baths several times a week. I recall that friends and myself would buy a season pass or similar.
During this period the place was always clean and well kept, I would say that at the time it was a prestigious swimming baths.
I am sure the Derby baths pool water was not sea water, just treated filtered water, and in comparison to the pool water used in the open air baths (South Shore), Derby baths was like a hot tub. I remember the Cocker St baths water being colder than Derby, and Lido baths having to much chlorine in it.
The pool depth went from 3ft - 5ft - 7ft - 16ft
As you looked toward the 16ft end, the diving boards were from the left, small spring board approx 2ft high, 2nd board with a spring board approx 10ft high, 3rd board approx 15ft high, and top board approx 30ft high. As you worked your way up the boards, they were incrementally higher but from 3rd board to the top board was double the height and a leap of faith.
I don’t think the pipes you showed at the edge of the beach are linked in anyway to Derby baths, but I was told that originally there was a tunnel from the Imperial hotel downstairs kitchen area, out to what I would call the middle prom (under the tram tracks). I believe this was used to deliver food for the hotel during its hayday, and was the reason the security services would occupy the middle prom during political party conferences (Maggie Thatcher era). The tunnel was a secure route out.
Thanks again for the video.
Thanks for the info. I will make a note of that tunnel from the Imperial for a future video.
Absolutely loved the little bit of history of Derby Baths thank you 😊
Glad you enjoyed it
Great vid steve very lots of info what I never knew. Thanks mate. All the best Dean from Hamburg
Thanks Dean. I am learning along the way myself!
Hi Stephen thank you for another great video as always that was very interesting good to know the history seems like quite a few famous people went there looked like a nice building take care xx
Your becoming one of my favourite TH-camrs, fantastic knowledge of Blackpool and all its local history. Really looking forward to many more of your informative videos of such a great resort 👍
Thanks Graham.
I used to go to the Blackpool Derby baths with dad from Preston often in the 1980s usually on a Sunday. There was also the open air baths that was replaced with the Sandcastle in 1986. Do you also remember the Pleasure Beach Fun House with compulsory stockingfeet rules, and that mad laughing clown, another place we love going to. These buildings have sadly been destroyed and never been rebuilt.
Excellent video here about the Derby Baths, may well have to ask members of my family if they ever swam there during visits to Blackpool, certainly before I was born and maybe a little afterwards too :) Such a shame, as you said on the video, about the building being demolished - typical mad local council decision. We had a similar controversy in the town of Bedford, where a much-loved town cinema was demolished despite it being rather good for movie-watching and being well-attended and used too. In the cinema's place a Lidl store was built, at least that replaced the waste ground immediately after demolition, but the area was never the same since.
Having lived in slums cockroaches where two a penny along with black beetles.
Most of the old big building in Blackpool with heat in the bottom have cockroaches and Crickets. If you wander down there in the evenings when the lights are dim it can sound like the jungle.
I'm famous and learned to swim in Derby baths, well famous in my own bubble anyway. Norbreck Hotel pool was much smaller but was also much warmer.
Montgomery School in Bispham held it's swimming Gala there every year.
I used to ride my bike from Thornton most days the baths were open,even went off the 10 metre board a few times.The famous Charlie Caroli lived just up Warley Rd, saw him leaving for work acouple of times.
Hey mate great video any more comeing love it
I always wondered how it was called the 'Derby Baths' thought too much out the box! So it was named after the street, how simple is that, you're a mind of information. Great to see your before and after shot of the site adds depth (no pun intended) to the story.
There's a bit more to.it than that.
Lord Derby is of the Stanley family. Hence Stanley Park.
They had many close connections to the town and they still do
The present Lord Derby opened the Stanley Park visitors centre and was also here for one of the park's special anniversaries ( ninetieth I think), a few years ago, recreating the opening ceremony that his grandfather had performed in 1926.
Never saw it as it was. I came here to Blackpool in 2001. Long after it went. Have lots of friends who remember it. Art deco wonder. It was beautiful x
I swam in the baths in about 1955 and I still remember the water being very cold.
I was in blackpool for 3 months, I was stuck there in March to July, I'm very thankful with Gp stuff and council house
Insha'Allah
Another great video, it brought back some great memories. My heart sank when I saw that the baths had been demolished, deciding with friends which baths to go to, The Derby, The Lido or Cocker Street. I haven't been back 'home for years', it's time for a return visit. I want to walk down the street where we lived, and get into town and see if my favourite shops are still there.
Wow Stephen real bit of history hear remembered it boy history itself remembered my friends in Blackpool telling the sadness of its close pity it couldn’t be persevered great video Stephen
Great video looked a lovely building.Shame they knocked it down
Lovely bit of history thanks
We used to go to Blackpool on September weekends .In Scotland Glasgow is 3rd Monday and Edinburgh second .You could go to Blackpool and meet people you had not seen for ages back home wandering down the Golden Mile .
My kids used to go to the Derby Baths .They were as you say huge . Great place and shame they were knocked down.
The red brick hotel building was as you say then The Pembroke .It was new I think late seventies . i last went to Blackpool in 2001 for The Open at Royal Lytham St Annes and stayed in the hotel .It was then the Blackpool Hilton and very nice it was .I notice now it`s been taken over and called The Grand .At the 1996 Open we stayed in The Imperial .They used to have the Labour & Tory high archy staying there when they went to Blackpool for their conferences .
I remember when at The Hilton going for a dip in the pool and then having a shower .This big amazon of a woman came into shower and turned it cold .I shrieked that`s too cold ! She replied what are you man ,a wimp ! Next again day at breakfast I spotted her .She was with her husband ........................the golfer Sandy Lyle !!
Love your videos .Nice to see Blackpool .It`s now 20 years since I was there !
Great story.
I love the learning about the history of towns and cities. The way you describe everything makes me feel as if I am really there. Art Deco buildings always look so grand, the demolished a beautiful building and now there is just a vacant plot of ground. In East London, South Africa the minute a building is demolished the vacant ground ends up looking like a bladdy refuse tip sight. Everyone goes and dumps all their shite there.
Thanks. Glad you like the videos.
If you wanted cold water, go to the open air pool, the sandcastle was built over it. It’s a Knockout was filmed their. Got my entrance fee back because friends and I cleared the props from the bottom of the pool. Derby baths also had a sauna and gym, happy Saturday afternoons.
Great video Stephen, never seen the baths . The photo is amazing, must of been a site in yellow in its day. My mum's cousin used to be the sguire of Blackpool and lived at mains hall . Cheers
Subscribed 🙂 Thank the TH-cam recommendations 🙌 I'll admit I binge watched a lot of your videos early this morning - maybe 5-6 hours worth. Would love a few videos on transport in Blackpool. Like train station, bus and maybe the buildings.
Shout for the Christmas lights in 4K. Looked great on my 4K TV. One last thing, the overall quality is superb. Look forward to more videos 🙌
Thanks for that. I suppose I could binge watch them myself as I do have quite a lot of stuff on there, and it is a pretty wide range. I did well with the 4k Illuminations video and was glad it chucked it down as it made for better reflections and general atmosphere. I had to use my dslr for that with it's rain cover.
It also had a 10 metre square learners pool. Also the building adjoinong to the rear, towards Dickson rd, was the Turkish Sauna baths. The site where the Grand (Hilton, Pembroke) now sits, was the former North Shore rock gardens, similar to the Gynn Sq gardens, sunken at the front and elevating to the east.
Ahh yes. Somebody mentioned to me there were rock gardens at the back.
It looks like theres still some remnants of the left hand side entrance way (the raised in-shot off the path at the top end), I love art deco buildings,such a shame that soo many are now gone
I think what you mean is the electrical substation that was built into the building that dealt with all the electrical Infrastructure, but served some other consumers in the area too. So when the building was demolished, they had to keep that as it would be too problematic to shut down and replace
That's how I was advised it was to be the case anyway.
Cheers.
Great video, i dont remember them baths at all, really nice building that what a shame it was knocked down , and was'nt made into anything else.
Remember going there as a kid , water was always bloody freezing until you had been in a while , remember a number of diving boards , the shallow end wasn't very shallow , far too many deep bits for me as a kid
Remember sunbathing! Never saw cockroaches fortunately! Thanks, always wondered what happened to the baths.
I used to go The Derby Bath when I as child on the tram from Fleetwood in the late sixties and early seventies from ,we used get in around the
Side of the Bath but never get in at the front from Wyre Tom
Wow, what memories! I nearly broke my neck going off the top board! Used to spend hours and hours in that pool, usually left looking like a prune 😂
Thanks. Wonderful video that evokes good memories. I swam there, competitively, in the mid 80s during the British National Championships.
What a travesty that they knocked it down.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Sky looks amazing
So informative! I visit Blackpool regularly and had often thought that plot of land somewhat curious? I now have the answer, thanks to you my friend. I too love art deco, how could any council, in the right mind, demolish such an iconic building with a great history? Please keep the vids coming, it's a great education for me!
Yeah shocking Paul. At least the Midland hotel (beautiful art deco) in Morecambe was eventually saved and restored to probably better than it's former glory,after being a ruin for many years.Only problem with that is that something needs doing with the rest of Morecambe,but Lancaster council couldn't give a damn!!!
Beautiful videos !! Brings back memories Too bad Derby Baths not there anymore
Glad you enjoyed it
Had many wonderful swims at the Derby Baths in the 1950's and 60's.
Very interesting. Definitely a tragic thing demolishing such a Art Deco building..
Great views mate luv this part of Blackpool quite clean
Another great interesting video , thanks
Went a few times in the 70's. Flippin' freezing cold !!!
I read on a Blackpool news page on Facebook last week , about an underground subway? I never even knew Blackpool had a subway, the article showed some photos of it all abandoned , but apparently it going to be getting filled in . Would be good to see where abouts the old subways used to be , it’s crazy to think I’ve walked the pavements of the prom and not even realised what was beneath my feet!
Yes I saw that myself. I must go and check them out, but I doubt they will let me down to have a look. I do remember the one under the promenade.
I only remember the underground toilets somewhere near central pier Claire. I hated going down there as a kid,and would do my best to hold on till we got back to our hotel!
What year did they close the subways? I can’t remember them I’m 33 but been coming to Blackpool since I was about 6 . 😂
@@claireturnbull917 I'm guessing the turn of the Millennium is when they started to close all the underground toilets & subways. They were a magnet for lewd behaviour & alcoholics.
@@AWalkontheWildSideBlackpool oh I could only imagine what went on down there 🙈
Another great video , mate !! 👌🏻
Excellent video Stephen
why the hell did that have to go would have made a better hotel than the grand thanks for that stephen
The council’s back then were brainless that building would have been fantastic today, they destroyed most beautiful buildings over Britain when they should have been saving them as there our heritage, great vid 👍
Took the kids there in the 1980s it had an external water slide had great fun and it was a stunning building,sad its gone
I an my family used to go swimming here on our holidays I always remember my younger sister couldn't swim so we got her a float ring and it was her first time in any baths...I told her to jump into the ring, she went straight through it and came up crying she wouldn't go in again. I will never forget that memory, at the Derby Baths. hahaha.