by J Ann Lewis
The Pant open-air swimming baths opened in 1937 at a cost of £6,000. The cost was met with a 100% grant from the Special Commissioner for Distressed Areas. Concern was expressed, as the grant only covered the cost of the construction; maintenance had to be provided out of the rates and could prove expensive. When Henry Seymour Berry, Lord Buckland, gave the gift of the Gwaunfarren Baths, it was on the condition that the running cost of it never added to the rates.
Up to 1924, Merthyr had no public baths, other than the privately-owned Turkish Baths in Caedraw. There was also the old Gwaunfarren Open-Air Baths belonging to the Bolgoed Estate that was let out to whoever would rent it. Ultimately, it became derelict and was then abandoned. It was on that site the Gwaunfarren Indoor Baths were built and presented to the Mayor of Merthyr, Councillor L. M. Jones, and opened on 3 July 1924.
The modern Pant pool was 100 ft long by 40 ft wide and 8 ft at the deepest end, and it was equipped with a 5-metre international diving stage, springboards and a chute. It had 16 changing cubicles for men and the same for women, and a great spectators’ gallery. The Pulsometer Engineering Co. installed the water filtration plant, but the delivery of sand for it delayed the opening. The lowest tender by Enoch Williams & Sons, Contractor, Dowlais, was signed on 28 May 1936.
In the same year, two local men were appointed Clerks of the Works; Thomas Dean of Penywern for Pant Baths , and Reginald McDonald of Gwladys Street, Pant, for the Edwardsville Baths which were being constructed at the same time. They experienced difficulty in obtaining carpenters, bricklayers, and steelworkers, and this, along with extremely wet weather further delayed the work. They eventually employed a foreman, 5 carpenters, a bricklayer and 3 labourers.
The chairman of the Corporation Baths Committee, Alderman Sam Jennings finally opened the baths on 20 May 1937.
Due to bad weather, the attendance was poor in the first few weeks, but picked up during August with 6,624 attending; £67 worth of receipts was taken. Unfortunately, during the warm weather, the tar from the asphalt surrounding the pool got onto the feet of the swimmers and caused discolouration of the water, so they subsequently covered the area with Cullamix (a hard wearing cement mix).
The pool held 180,000 gallons of water, and during the first quarter, ending 30 September 1937, 442,000 gallons had been used.
It was well used during the warm summer months, and most of the local children learned to swim there, developing deep suntans – long before the dangers of sunbathing were learned. It was a great place for summer picnics, but on hot summer days, the queues to gain entrance were unbearable.
In 1985, and after years of use, the baths were in a shocking condition with graffiti covering the walls and windows boarded up. By July that year, the Council decided to demolish the baths, and accepted the lowest tender, submitted by Collinbourne Construction, for the sum of £5,575. It was advised that items of equipment from Pant Baths be utilised as a standby system at Gwaunfarren Baths.
It was a sad end for a place that had been such an important part of the community for many years.
