ABSTRACT
By the twentieth century, most towns with over 20,000 inhabitants had a pool. The system of keeping the water clean was still the ‘fill and empty principle’. This involved filling up the bath at the start of the week and letting it become dirtier due to use until, usually by the end of the week, the bottom of the bath could not be seen. Only then would it be emptied and refilled. This system continued until about 1920 when filtration-based water purification systems became available, which significantly improved the water quality and swimming conditions. Clubs were plentiful by the beginning of the twentieth century. Baths such as Islington had 100 clubs in 1913, serving the competitive, social and recreational needs of the local population.
