1932 Priory Pit New Bathhouse
The Central Welfare Committee in London in October 1929, signified their willingness to proceed with the erection of baths at the Priory Colliery, Blantyre, which belonged to Messrs William Baird and Co., Ltd.
It was reported in the Motherwell Times on Friday 18th October 1929, with the following commentary: “As 880 men are employed, the scheme will be an ambitious one. Each worker will be given a bath to himself with his own key, and steam pipes will run through the entire building for drying the men’s clothes.”
Mr William Small, the joint secretary of the Miners’ Welfare Schemes, visited the colliery that weekend and explained the details of the scheme to the men. He stated that some colliery owners would give towards its future maintenance, but the workers themselves would also require to subscribe the balance, which would be about 6d per week per man. The men unanimously agreed to take a ballot of all the workers, which was successfully carried out that week.
Construction of the pit bathhouse began in the first week of June 1931. Pictured upon opening, is the completed bathhouse.