Historic building recording comprised technical analysis to produce descriptions of the building recording surviving historic fabric, evidence of change and the functioning of the building. Photographs were taken of the principal external elevations and internal spaces. Detailed shots were taken of significant details or to illustrate construction detail or evidence of change. A measured floor plan of the building and cross-sections were produced to record the historic plan form and construction. This was supported by documentary and cartographic research which focused specifically on oral history (accounts of personal experiences). In January 2022, Wardell Armstrong (WA) undertook historic building recording of a former public slipper baths at No. 141 Church Street, West Ham, London Borough of Newham. This was carried out to fulfil the requirement of a planning condition in advance of the demolition of the former slipper baths building. The building has long since ceased its original use and is a fairly poor state of preservation. Nevertheless, the building retains much archaeological evidence regarding the original form and character of the public baths. Built in 1931, the baths were built in modest Art Deco style common to public buildings of the period. At construction, the plan form was of a central block housing the entrances, dressing rooms and administrative areas with three ranges containing slipper baths (top-lit through lantern lights), two to the north for ladies and one to the south for gentlemen. A wide variety of materials were used for the public facing areas of the building including brown brick with red brick dressings, artificial stone alongside concrete that contrast markedly with the simple yellow brick of the private and industrial areas. Within the building, the public rooms were all finished with terrazzo flooring and glazed brick walls. A glimpse below floor level reveals the remains of the pipework associated with the building and further evidence may be revealed during demolition. Following the closure of the baths shortly after 1979, the baths and other fixtures and fittings were removed to allow use by Newham Boxing Club in a different community venture. However, it is the recollections and memories of people attended the baths, from a lady taking her last bath before marriage to the mechanics of having a numbered ticket system which prevented pushing in, which enhances the archaeological record and provides a vivid reminder of the importance of such buildings to the history of a community.
Tansy Collins (Sat,) studied this question.