January 2, 1914.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

Pithead Baths at the Atherton Collieries, Lancashire.

A MODEL INSTALLATION.

The question of providing the workmen at collieries
with facilities for washing themselves and drying their
clothes engaged the attention of the Royal Commission
on Mines in 1906. The evidence given before the
Commissioners showed that very few collieries in this
country had attempted to provide washing accommo-
dation even for a small proportion of the workmen
employed. On the Continent, the general practice is for
the miner to wash and change before leaving the colliery.

By the new General Regulations, collieries have to
provide baths and facilities for drying clothes for all
men engaged, provided two-thirds of the workmen
employed at any mine have voted in favour of such
provision; and all the men have to contribute a sum
equal to one-half of the cost of maintenance.

It is a matter for gratification to note that a Lanca-
shire firm, Messrs. Fletcher, Burrows and Co. Limited,
have been the pioneers in respect of baths. For many
years a number of baths have been in constant use at each
of the collieries belonging to this firm, and the number
of workmen using these facilities has steadily increased.
The company, seeing that the men appreciated the
benefits derived from the innovation, voluntarily pro-
vided, without any balloting on the part of the workmen,
further accommodation for a large number. The men
do not contribute towards the cost of upkeep or interest
on capital expended, but each man provides his own
soap and towels. The baths are under the sole control
of the management.

The new building at the Atherton Collieries was
opened last September ; on the opening day ovei- 10 per
cent, of the workmen engaged underground made use of
the accommodation.

At the present time 300 men use the bath daily. The
bath-house is a handsome structure placed in a convenient
position on the way out from the pits, and provided with
such facilities and comfort that the system could not be
surpassed.

The building (fig. 1) is made of red bricks, with red tile
roof, which is boarded underneath; the inside walls are

towards a cement gutter, along which the waste from
the sprays and the cold water standing in the shower
pipes are conveyed away from the building. To ensure
privacy, each cabin is provided with a hinged wooden
door, which is kept open by means of a spring when the
cabin is unoccupied, but can be locked on the inside
when desired. The cabin measures 6 ft. long by 3 ft. 4 in-
wide.

Fig. 1.—Pithead Baths at the Atherton Collieries.



aisles. The building and the shower-water are both
heated by steam supplied from the boilers. The hori-
zontal steam-pipe enters the hall (fig. 2) along the left
end of the hot-water tank, and a right-angle bend brings
it vertically downwards to the distributing platform,
its end being closed by means of a blind flange. Imme-
diately above the base of the pipe a steam trap
has been fixed and to the tee-piece above a
horizontal pipe has been connected to it. A short
vertical pipe, provided with a reducing valve, is fixed
to the horizontal pipe (seen about the middle and
upper edge of the wire-netting gate). The steam in its
passage through the reducer is lowered in pressure

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Fig. 2.—Distributing Platform, showing Arrangement of Pipes.



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Fig. 3.—One of the Cabins.









lined to a height of 6 ft., with white glazed bricks; the
dressing-hall measures 80 ft. long, 30 ft. wide, 22 ft. to
eaves and 32 ft. high to the ridge ; the floor consists of red
Ruabon tiles; the fittings comprise 400 suspenders or
clothes hooks, suspender frames with seats attached, and
heating and hot-watei' appliances ; the annexe on each
side of the hall contains 20 shower cabins. The floor of
the cabins is laid with “ terrazzo ” and has a gradien^

The walls are built of white glazed bricks, and
openings about 6 in. high are left next the floor in the
partition walls, which allow water to run away and also
permit of freer ventilation. Both the dressing-hall and
the cabins are excellently ventilated by 12 ventilating
cowls and large windows. The lighting after dark is
done by four 100-candle power electric lamps in the
hall, and five 32-candle power lamps in each of the

to about 30 lb. per square inch, and from the reducer it
branches to the right and left 1 inch pipes, which are
connected to two larger parallel pipes on either side.
The latter extend the whole length of the building; one
of these pipes terminating near the window is seen on
the left in fig 2. A pressure gauge near the reducer
enables the pressure to be kept under observation. By
the heating arrangement the room is maintained at a