Laundry
We hear nothing about the laundry immediately following the end of the Second World War and it continued operating alongside the slipper baths, medical baths and theatre. The number of treatments at the medical baths increased significantly in 1949 due to referrals from the new National Health Service but once the general hospital took everything ‘in house’, the medical baths went into a steep decline. In 1950 it undertook half the treatments that it had just two years previously and although the slipper baths were still very busy there simply wasn’t enough work to sustain the laundry.
In early 1951 the Heath & Holiday Resort Committee noted that ‘the quantity of laundry from the Medical Baths had declined and it was suggested that from 5 February most of the laundry from the Town Hall be send to this laundry… In view of the obsolete character of this laundry and the possibility of the accommodation being utilised for housing the new boilers, the borough surveyor and spa manager [should] report on the question of the whole of the council’s laundry being undertaken at Alstone Baths’.
The question remained unanswered, surprisingly, for another 15 months as it was not until 5 May 1952 that all laundry work was to be sent to Alstone. The services of one of the two laundresses were dispensed with immediately while the other was retained to work part time in the wash baths. The new arrangements didn’t run quite as smoothly as anticipated – there was still a need to air towels at the Montpellier Baths and unfortunately when a new heating system was installed in the summer of 1952 they by-passed the airing cupboard. This meant that attendants were airing towels in front of an electric radiator until the Heath & Holiday Resort Committee agreed to the expenditure of £15 to connect the cupboard to the system.
No new boilers were installed and the laundry and drying room remained as they were until 1955 when the equipment was removed to allow the two rooms to be merged into one new rehearsal room for the new Theatre & Arts Club. A great pity no one seems to have taken any photos of the inside of the laundry at this time to fill a pictorial gap in the archives.
55 Bath Road (the corner shop)
Fruiterer
Herbert Reece remained here until 1951 when the business and tenancy was taken over by William Joseph Fry. His wife continued running the shop for a short while after his death as she is listed as sole tenant in 1957.
General Shop
According to Kelly’s Directory of 1959 and 1961 the business here at the time operated under the name of Tee’s. This was followed by Deal in 1963.
Antiques
Hartley for Hunters antique dealers are listed as the tenant from 1965 – 1974 according to Kelly’s Directory.
1 Oriel Road
Herbert Reece remained living here for a decade after he had finished running his fruit shop across the yard at 55 Bath Road. Surprisingly the ground floor was then converted back into a small shop and had a succession of tenants:
Heating Engineer
From 1965-69 it is occupied by D Egerton & Co Ltd.
Garden Equipment
In 1970 the shop is occupied by Holford Engineering Ltd but according to Kelly’s Directory in 1971 it was sharing the premises with the subsequent tenant.
Bank
After apparently sharing the premises with Holford Engineering during 1971 Nat West Bank are sole tenants until 1974.
47 Bath Road
This had been the residence for successive superintendents or managers of the Montpellier Baths for decades and remained a house after the opening of the theatre. The final superintendent of the Spa Medical Baths was Thomas Hudson (appointed 1931) and he remained in the property until 1957, two years after its closure. It then became the home of Mrs Worgan who managed the first floor slipper baths.
Hair Salon
In the late 60s, the ground floor was converted to use for a separate shop and according to Kelly’s Directory was home to Chris’s Hairdressers in 1969 and 1970.