College Baths: St John's College, Cambridge

Situated on the bank of the river Cam behind New Court, on the site of the old Chemical Laboratory (originally constructed in 1853), the St John’s College Baths were considered a welcome addition to the College when they first opened in Michaelmas Term 1922. In his memoirs, the theologian and Master of St John’s College, 1959-1969, John Sandwith Boys Smith (1901-1991) recollects that the new bathhouse was “a well-designed building”, accessed via B Staircase, New Court, with “both baths in cubicles (two reserved for Fellows) and showers with dressing cubicles”.

Few images of the College Baths remain. Following the increase in student numbers post-1945, the bathhouse was demolished in the early 1960s along with the collection of workshops, storerooms and squash courts which formerly stood at the back of New Court to accommodate the construction of the Cripps Building (1966-1967).

Reference        Architect and Engineering News 9 December 1921 illustration
Reference        https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/college-baths