Improvements in Public Baths.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 12th Jan., 1900-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Public Baths.
I, JAMES KANE, 6, Victoria Terrace, Clifton, Bristol, Chief Superintendent
of Bristol Public Baths, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of public baths
which may be embodied in a general scheme in conjunction with swimming
and other baths, or, may form a seperate and independent bath house complete
in itself with all necessary offices and appliances.
Up to the present time public authorities and others in this country, have
generally provided the trough, tub, or slipper bath as a medium by which the
body may be cleansed.
My invention has for its object the provision of bathing facilities which shall
have none of the existing disadvantages associated with the trough, tub, or
slipper bath and relates to a method of constructing baths, so that the body
may be cleansed by means of running water, using for this purpose various
contrivances such as sprays, rings, douches, showers and the like, all or each of
which, are fitted in specially constructed cubicles or compartments (hereafter
to be referred to as compartments.)
These compartments are grouped in a heated hall or bath room (hereafter to
be referred to as bath room) specially designed, heated and ventilated for this
purpose. The manner of grouping these compartments will be governed by
site and system of dressing boxes or rooms (hereafter to be referred to as
dressing rooms) adopted.
The dressing rooms may be arranged on either side of the bath room, or in a
In either, case
seperate room, which may be on the same floor level or not.
communication between the dressing rooms and compartments in bath room
will be obtained by a special system of doors and corridors.
1000
I, JAMES KANE, 6, Victoria Terrace, Clifton, Bristol, Chief Superintendent
of Bristol Public Baths, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of public baths,

page_text: |have a central passage for entrance to, and exit from, the dressing rooms, with
a passage on each of the opposite sides leading to and from the bath room, or,
they may be arranged so as to provide a waiting room, or cooling room, or both.
Either method of grouping the dressing rooms and compartments may be
applied to a building of one or more storeys high.
In order that my invention, and the means by which the same is to be carried
into practical effect, may be thoroughly understood, I will now describe them'
in detail, referring in so doing to the accompanying figures, which are to be
taken as part of this specification and read therewith:-
Fig. 1 is a general plan of the bath room, shewing the compartments grouped
in pairs down the centre, with their corresponding dressing rooms, doors, and
corridors. No curtain, screen, or door is shown at the entrance to the compart-
ments, but either may be provided.
Fig. 2, is a cross section of the same, shewing one method of roofing a single
storey bath house.
Fig. 3 is a general plan of another method of grouping the dressing rooms in
a seperate room, above, or below, or in a line with the bath room.
Fig. 4 is a cross section of a compartment and dressing room, with their
respective corridors and ventilating shafts.
Fig. 5 is a sectional plan of same.
Referring to Figures 1, and 2, A is the bath room, and B, B are the com-
partments in which the bathers wash themselves. C, C are the corridors
which may, or may not, be provided. They provide access to the bath room
and compartments without the necessity of passing through the dressing rooms,
and at the same time facilitate the discharge of the attendant's duties to the
bather. D, I are the side walls of the bath room, and show the doors d, d
leading. to and from the dressing rooms. E, E are the dressing rooms, pre-
ferably arranged on either side of the bath room. F, F are the corridors
leading to the dressing rooms from the main entrance. G, G is the main wall
of the outer structure, if it is a separate bath house. H, H are shafts or flues,
conveying warm air from the heating chamber to the bath room.
These may
either be structures attached to the wall, or, if the wall be thick enough, form
part of the wall itself. The warm air should preferably be conveyed from the
heating chamber in one or more shafts or flues, built in, or attached to, one of
the end walls of the bath room. These shafts or flues, should preferably be
continued along the side walls of the bath room, near the ceiling level, and
be provided with apertures h, and h¹ at suitable intervals, fitted with adjustable
gratings, in order to control the warm air supply to the bath room and dressing
rooms. I, I, I, I, I are the exhaust shafts or flues for conveying the vitiated
air from the compartments, corridors, and dressing rooms, and should, prefer-
ably be made effective by the use of a revolving fan. i, i, i, i are upright
shafts conducting the vitiated air from the bath room, compartments, dressing
rooms and corridors to the exhaust shafts I, I, I, I, I. These upright shafts
should, preferably, be fixed as shown in Figures 1, and 2, where apertures with
adjustable gratings are provided to each upright shaft, as near the floor level
as possible, in such a manner as to secure that, where necessary, each upright
shaft shall have an opening into two compartments, or two dressing rooms, and
their respective corridors. J is a drain pipe carrying waste water from the
bath room, which should, preferably, be placed in a suitably constructed sub-
way under the bath room, which may also contain the exhaust air shaft or
shafts, water pipes, and the like.
Referring to Fig. 3, H, H are shafts or flues conveying warm air. I, I are
exhaust shafts or flues conveying vitiated air, and i, i, i, i are upright shafts
conducting the vitiated air to the main exhaust shafts, all of which are explained
in detail in Figures 1, and 2. K is the central corridor leading to and from the
dressing rooms marked M. L, L are the corridors communicating between