C O N T E X T 1 1 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 19 IHBC Annual School 2010 IHBC Annual School 2009 IHBC Annual School 2010 ensure public access though the site. This case study illustrates the wider benefits that conservation good practice can bring. Everyone is a winner at the Arsenal – the historic building, the new occupants, the local residents, and all those thousands of football fans who still cherish the history and football heritage of the site. Edmund Bird Waving not drowning: keeping historic swimming baths in use The title of this presentation, ‘not waving but drowning’, was taken from a poem by Stevie Smith about a man whose distressed thrashings are mistaken for waving, when in fact he is drowning. Dungavell is passionate about his subject, having undertaken an impressive personal campaign – swimming a lap for every year that each of England’s surviving historic swimming pools has been open. Dungavell explained the depressing fact that, in spite of his campaigning, the problem of abandoned and derelict Victorian swimming pools was still a pressing one. He pointed out that they were mostly in local authority ownership. An absence of proper and regular maintenance in recent decades was the cause of many of the problems faced today. Using English Heritage’s conservation principles, Dungavell explained that a great part of the special interest of swimming baths’ significance lay in the fact that they were intended for swimming, cleansing and communal exercise. These are the uses to which they are best suited; conversion to other uses should therefore be a last resort. Dungavell showcased a number of recent examples, some successful and some less so. He offered each a gold, silver or bronze award according to their success. But he recognised that flexibility, imagination and a certain amount of sacrifice on the part of conservation professionals was required in most instances to secure any sort of future for these buildings. A purist approach was rarely an option for this desperately vulnerable building type. He started with the Victorian Baths in Manchester, featured in BBC’s Restoration programme. It hosts community events and arts projects, but unfortunately no swimming, despite £1 million having been spent on roof repairs. It received a bronze medal. Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham, a Grade II* The restored main pool at Kentish Town Sports Centre, London. Thomas Aldwinckle’s unique trefoil-shaped roof has been revealed and new state-of-theart mechanical and engineering systems installed as part of the £25 million restoration. (Photo: Ian Dungavell) The gym, created by inserting a new floor above the second pool, contributes to the leisure centre’s finances. (Photo: Ian Dungavell)
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