Trust saves bathing house for future use

Trust saves bathing house for future use

19 August 2015

A CRUMBLING landmark on the shore in Ardglass has been saved from further decay.

The distinctive bathing house, which dates from around 1830, has been saved by the Follies Trust which recently celebrated the completion of a project to conserve the structure.

This small structure, which is probably the only surviving example of a bathing house in Ulster, is lapped by the tide on the shoreline at Ardglass. 

It is a hexagonal cut-stone structure built by the local man, William Ogilvy. It has toy fort crenellations and is a reminder of the days when Ardglass was a town where people came to seek the recuperative benefits of sea bathing. 

An advertisement in the Downpatrick Recorder in 1847 reads: 

“The HOT, TEPID, and SHOWER BATHS are constructed on a new and improved system, and [tickets] will be given either singly, or by the dozen, on moderate terms. The PLUNGE BATH for Ladies is on a highly approved plan, and to those who prefer open Sea-bathing, ample accommodation had been provided, as well by Bathing-Boxes as by an extensive range of Bathing-Rooms. The superior water, and salubrious air of Ardglass are too well known to require comment.

“The bathing house is a listed building of great local interest and the Follies Trust is pleased that funding for the project has come from Down District Council through the Landfill Communities Fund administered by Ulster Wildlife and also from the Ardglass Vikings,” said a spokesman for the Follies Trust.

The Follies Trust is a small charity with no staff which was formed in 2006 to encourage the appreciation and conservation of unusual and interesting structures. To date the Trust has been involved in the conservation of 15 listed or protected structures in places which including Castlewellan and now Ardglass.