Bath, hip bath, sitz bath

This sitz bath, or hip bath, comes from the bathhouse at the admission unit for Camberwell Reception Centre, known popularly as ‘The Spike’. Originally built as the Gordon Road Workhouse in 1878, it was a place of last refuge for over 100 years.

In 1948 the centre came under the charge of the National Assistance Board and became its main ‘casual’ ward, accepting only penniless men. Under the name Camberwell Resettlement Centre, its remit was ‘to make provision whereby persons without a settled way of living might be influenced to lead a more settled life’.

Bathing was a crucial part of admission to the workhouse and subsequent casual wards throughout the site’s history. On entry, new inmates were required to strip and had their clothes and bodies inspected for signs of infestation. If their clothes were infested, they would be taken away for disinfection, and the man would be issued with night clothing.

Every inmate was then required to bath or shower. The baths were lined up in stalls with no doors, and would have been positioned so that the user faced the front of the open cubicle so that the two attendants could monitor their washing. This bath was installed in 1959, when the bathroom was refurbished.

‘I know how someone feels walking around in the overalls, feels shunned and miserable. Have a shower, don’t stop under too long as the water is freezing (another time it’s too hot, and everyone looks like a lobster). We get dressed quickly, thinking only of a pint of tea, stew, breakfast leftovers, and nip into the interview room’ - Eddie Brindley, former Camberwell Resettlement Centre resident.

A 1964 report lists 12 shower baths and 5 slipper baths in the bathhouse admission unit where this bath comes from. Up to 15 men passed through the bathhouse every 15 minutes. As well as casuals, these facilities were used by men on ‘gate-leave’, that is longer term residents of the Centre. Unusually for ‘casual’ wards after the Second World War, at Gordon Road you had to go through the whole procedure for applying for admission every single night, including the bathhouse.

‘We end up cleaner than your regular commuter. And there's not much point when you have to wear the same clothes day in and day out’. Bert, former Camberwell Resettlement Centre resident.

Breakdowns in hot water supply were frequent, especially in peak times of demand such as winter weekends. This brought admission to a standstill, sometimes for as long as an hour. The cause was the ageing calorifier in the basement which failed to boost the temperature of the water from the boiler. If the delay was long, men who had previously entered the day before would be inspected and allowed to proceed without washing.

The bathhouse system could be very arduous for the men, some of whom suffered from severe ill health. At least one death thought to be brought on by washing is referenced by the Centre’s doctor in the 1960s.

Camberwell Resettlement Centre as it was then called closed permanently in September 1985.