| AdminHistory | The Public Baths and Wash-Houses Acts of 1846 and 1847 enabled parishes to construct public facilities of this kind, the expense being met directly out of the Poor Rate or by loans obtained on a mortgage of the rates. The Acts (dubbed 'adoptive acts') were enlightened pieces of legislation which made provision for vestries to apply to the Local Government Board to take over the appointment, duties and liabilities of any existing Baths and Wash-House Commissioners. Many local authorities did not make use of these powers until the 1890s, but All Saints Poplar Vestry was something of an exception to this, having evidently decided to take up the option to control baths and wash-houses as early as 1850 (the surviving minutes begin in that year). The 1855 Post Office Directory confirms that the baths and wash-houses had been built by that point, and they were still in use in 1895. |