IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Edward Road, BIRMINGHAM, B12 9LR

This splendidly ornate building consists of the free library (the far clock tower and the section with the three large gabled windows) built in 1895, and the Baths (the nearer twin towered section and chimney) which were added in 1907. The entrance in the centre of the Baths section, beneath the sculptured figures, is labelled "Women's Baths" whilst the entrances on the left and right are labelled "Men's Baths Second Class" and "Men's Baths First Class" respectively. The library still operates as a branch of the Birmingham Public Library. The baths however are not open. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Library_and_Baths,_Balsall_Heath

Not so new, boarded up public house, junction of Edward Road and Moseley Road. Image] in better times

A free house on Edward Street in Balsall Heath.

Coat of arms of the city of Birmingham, sculpted in terracotta, over the entrance to the Women's Baths at Moseley Road Baths. The baths, with their separate entrances for men and women, opened in 1907 and provided facilities for taking a bath in private, at a time when many homes had no bathroom, as well as two swimming pools, one of which is still in use. https://www.wmf.org/project/moseley-road-baths The supporters of the coat of arms represent industry (blacksmith with hammer and anvil) and art (artist with palette).

A remarkable set of buildings in the middle of Balsall Heath town. The public baths (on the left here) were built in 1907, and the library (further right, just in front of the prominent clock tower) is a few years earlier in 1895. They attracted a Grade II* listing https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101076274-balsall-heath-library-and-balsall-heath-public-baths-sparkbrook-ward#.XgzJc0f7TIU & https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1076274 in 1982; the exterior and interior are described in great detail in that listing, but to summarise the Library:- "Flemish and Renaissance details combined with some Arts and Crafts motifs, all lavishly executed in buff terracotta contrasted with red brick walls... a rich, carefully balanced design..." and the baths:- "the same idiom as the library in colour, but with more lavish terracotta decoration to the symmetrical facade, and more conventionally Flemish-Jacobean detail" A great deal of the original interior fixtures and fittings remain in place, particularly in the baths, with many of the changing rooms entirely as they were first built and tiled, even down to the door furniture.

Viewed from Lime Grove opposite, now functioning Public Baths on Moseley Road, Balsall Heath. Always under threat of closure, it looks like surviving provided funding to restore it goes ahead. The library next door is getting a refurb. See also Image]

Detail of house which formed part of J H Butcher and Co.'s Print Works (Transfer Works) and appears to have been the owner's home. The buildings are now The Old Print Works, a 'creative hub' for artists and small businesses.