These photographs show part of the showpiece cooling-room which bathers would see after leaving the ticket office and entering the baths. Immediately between the entrance and the plunge pool surround, they would find tables and chairs where newspapers and magazines could be read, and light refreshments, ordered before their bath, could be consumed in comfort.

On either side of the room are five changing and relaxation cubicles, three single and two double. On either side of the pool at the far end are doors leading to the pool steps, the hot rooms, and the Russian steam bath.

What is remarkable is that these two photographs, taken almost 70 years apart, show that the only visible change in appearance during this time has been the addition of an emergency exit light, and possibly—though we cannot be sure about this—a new set of curtains.