IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Haden Way, BIRMINGHAM, B12 9TZ

The old route directly ahead has been superseded by Haden Way, onto which the through route curves ahead.

In process of major refurb, impressive building on Moseley Road. Next door to Moseley Baths Image] and former School of Art Image]

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]

After the long, long crawl through Kings Heath and Moseley, the A435 reverts to a 40mph limit on the new alignment of Haden Way.

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).