After almost two years of closure the much-improved Montpellier Baths was opened with great fanfare and acclaim in September 1900. The swimming bath was refurbished with a significantly-raised roof while the washing baths on the ground floor had been swept away and replaced with a mix of baths and showers (use depending on your class). A first floor, reached by a small hydraulic lift, had also been added to provide additional washing facilities. These changes added considerably to the work of the laundry.
The heyday of The Real Cheltenham Salts had long since passed and production had pretty much ground to a halt before the purchase of the property by the Corporation of Cheltenham but plans were made to resurrect the salt works following the reopening of the baths.
The Corporation continued with the closure of the swimming bath for the winter months although the bath was not boarded over for use as a gymnasium again until 1905. It was soon put to other uses such as, incredibly, indoor cricket and, during the First World War, dinners for soldiers on leave from the trenches; dances proved to be a particularly good money-spinner although this did cause problems with the neighbours.
Two new medical baths were installed in 1907 with a few more treatments added in 1915. In 1919 a whole suite of medical baths were installed on the ground floor replacing the previous washing baths; a small extension was added to the first floor to provide four more washing baths to compensate. Although referred to as The Medical Baths, they were not officially named the Spa Medical Baths until 1923.
Mixed bathing (swimming) was introduced in 1933 but the opening of the Sandford Park Lido in 1935 had a severe impact on the numbers using – and therefore the takings of – the swimming bath. It was therefore a fairly obvious decision in 1940 to board over the swimming bath year round so that it could be used as an ARP First Aid Centre during the Second World War, although the medical and wash baths remained open almost continuously throughout.
In July 1944 town clerk Frank Littlewood informed the council that other comparable towns are looking at having a council-run civic theatre and that Cheltenham should not be left behind. Proposals for a new culture and entertainment centre behind the Town Hall were considered as a vital facility for the town once the war was over and a new theatre was to be an important part of the plans for the new building. A Civic Theatre Minor Committee within the Entertainments Subcommittee was established to investigate further and Littlewood becomes the prime mover in the new theatre proposal.
In October the Civil Defence relinquished their use of the swimming bath and an inspection made it clear that a lot of work would need doing to bring it back into use, leading the Town Improvement & Spa Committee to propose leaving the pool boarded over, ripping out the balconies, and finding a new use for the room now referred to as the Montpellier Hall.
Click on the drop down menu or links above to read more about the different uses during this period.