United We Will Swim

We heard it was shutting on the first day that it got occupied when we saw all the police and the commotion. We used to come down and support the people who were occupying it. It was an excellent feeling. You felt like you were at home, you felt wanted and loved.

United We Will Swim commemorates the centenary of Govanhill Baths and tells its fascinating story – past, present and future.

Made up of newly commissioned essays, these explore the architecture of the building, the Baths’ role as a community health and wellbeing provision and its evolving relationship with the changing community of Govanhill. The essays go on to give an account of the community occupation and the campaign to save the pool from closure, reflections on the Baths’ engagement with the arts, details of the newly established community archive, as well as laying out the dynamic plans for the future of the building.

The essays are interspersed with personal memories from users of the Baths and a wealth of photographs of the building, the people and items from the archive.

United We Will Swim documents the rich, diverse and inspiring story of Govanhill Baths and the community it serves.

About the Authors:

HELEN DE MAIN was the artist in residence at Govanhill baths.

MARTHA BROPHY is the pen name of Paula Larkin. She is currently studying an msc in Information Management and Preservation at Glasgow University. She has been involved with a number of artist-led organisations in Glasgow since the 1990s including Variant magazine, New Visions and Document film festivals. She has strong family connections with Govanhill and lived here 1988–2001.

REBECCA GORDON-NESBITT worked for a decade as a curator of international contemporary art. Since 2003, she has consistently applied the methods of social research to the cultural field. Her forthcoming book To Defend the Revolution is to Defend Culture: The Cultural Policy of the Cuban Revolution will be published by PM Press in spring 2015. She is a founder member of The Centre for Cultural Change.

ANDREW JOHNSON has been involved with Govanhill Baths for over 40 years. He has been a parent of Kingston Swimming Club swimmers, a dedicated campaigner from the outset of the campaign when the Baths were closed in 2001 and, since 2005, the Chair of Govanhill Baths Community Trust.

HEATHER LYNCH is a researcher and artist. Heather has published work that explores material experience of difference as this relates to social policy, gender, ethnicity and disability. She is currently affiliated to the University of Glasgow.

PAUL MILLAR was a town planner for much of his career where an interest in health and the environment led to him to retrain as a health psychologist. Today he enjoys working with health professionals and community groups, supporting and assessing activities that promote healthy lifestyles.

JIM MONAGHAN is a writer, editor and researcher. Former Editor of Scottish Nurse and Medical Network among other publications in the health sector, he was a parliamentary researcher in the Scottish Parliament. Jim lives in Govanhill where he is Chair of the Community Council and sits on the local Community Planning Partnership board.

RACHAEL PURSE has an MA(Hons) in History and an MSC in Museum Studies from the University of Glasgow. She became involved with Govanhill Baths through including the building in an exhibition she was designing for Glasgow City Heritage Trust. This is her first published piece, and she looks forward to writing many more.

LESLEY RIDDOCH is an award-winning broadcaster, writer, journalist, independence campaigner and land reform activist. She writes weekly columns for The National and is a contributor to The Guardian, BBC Question Time, Scotland Tonight and Any Questions. She is founder and Director of Nordic Horizons, a policy group that brings Nordic experts to the Scottish Parliament and produces a popular weekly podcast. Lesley has presented You and Yours on BBC Radio 4, The Midnight Hour on BBC2 and The People’s Parliament and Powerhouse on Channel 4. She founded the Scottish feminist magazine Harpies and Quines, won two Sony awards for her daily Radio Scotland show and edited The Scotswoman – a 1995 edition of The Scotsman written by its female staff. She was a trustee of the Isle of Eigg Trust that pioneered the successful community buyout in 1997. She has presented and co-produced films about the Faroes, Iceland and Norway and during lockdown, presented Declaration, a film celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. Lesley was awarded a PHD in July 2020 and lives near the sea in north Fife.

DAVE SHERRY is a trade union activist and socialist who lives locally and supported the Save Our Pool campaign. He is the author of Occupy! A Short History of Workers’ Occupations and John Maclean: Red Clydesider and Empire and Revolution: a Socialist History of the First World War.