Architect’s descendants to visit listed landmark.
In the week that the Grade II* Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath celebrates its 107th birthday, around twenty descendents of the building’s architect, William Hale, will be taking a tour of this nationally important Edwardian swimming pool, accompanied by members of the Friends of Moseley Road Baths group.
The family visit follows an approach to the Friends by Anthony Hale, William Hale’s great-grandson, and himself a practicing architect based in St. Albans. The visit takes place on Saturday, November 1st from 2pm, two days after the anniversary of the building’s opening. For many family members this will be their first opportunity to see what is arguably William Hale’s finest work and the only swimming baths that he designed.
William Hale was born in Oxford in 1835, moving to Birmingham in 1858. A Fellow and Council member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Hale was five times President of the Birmingham Architectural Association. His two sons, Alfred and William, were also architects (Alfred being involved in the work on Moseley Road Baths) so the profession has run in the Hale family for several generations.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit, Friends’ Chair Jenny Austin said: “We were delighted when Anthony Hale contacted us asking to visit the building, and extremely pleased that we will be able to show so many family members around a place that has served the people of Balsall Heath, Highgate, Moseley and many other parts of of Birmingham so well for over a century.
“Although the future of Moseley Road Baths remains under great threat, the Friends regularly receive requests from individuals and organisations throughout the UK and beyond, wanting to find out more about it. It is a building of which owners Birmingham City Council should be very proud.”