Dear LPG,

I often pass the Glass Mill leisure centre at the Lewisham end of Loampit Vale.  But earlier this week I happened to be sitting on the top deck of a bus that was practically stationary because of a traffic jam.  I heard quite a few reviews about the place at the time that it was first opened which labelled the general appearance of the outside of the building as an unsuccessful attempt at colour matching, but seeing it at such close quarters brought that fact home to me.  That long  lingering look at the building left me sure of what I first thought in spite of all of the facilities that my friends have told me are available there; including some exercise classes specifically aimed at older people.  I have to admit to never having actually been inside, perhaps because exercise has never really been my thing. 

I had always thought that its predecessor, which was situated at 261 Lewisham High Street, and called the Ladywell leisure centre, was a very striking building on the other hand, and I have to say that I was very disappointed when that building was closed in 2013.  Although many said that it was a bit of a mess inside and needed to be replaced, having looked it up I now know that that building had been there since 1965 and I have to say that although I do remember when

It opened, and how impressed Lewisham seemed to be with it, I honestly did not realise that it had been there quite that long.

Then there was, what is now referred to as the Lewisham Playtower, the really classic swimming baths that we had before that.  That building was opened in 1884 and was still being used some 120 years later, although not always for swimming.   It started its life as a Victorian slipper bath designed to make sure that every Lewisham citizen, who did not have washing facilities for themselves and their clothes in their homes, had somewhere to go.  In its day I have no doubt that the then Lewisham public felt that it had  a controversial look about it but, when we see its other incarnations and realise that it has been standing for over 120 years, it has to be said that they built things to last back in the day.    That grade two listed building is still standing and may be about to become a cinema complex. 

Perhaps older is better then?

DW, Lewisham

LPG found some information on the ways that swimming in Lewisham has and is likely to change…

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