Slatted duckboard used in a public bathhouse

Wooden floor slat or duckboard, consisting of four top slats connected to two underneath, believed to have been used in a public bathhouse, possibly the Cheshire Street public baths and laundry in Bethnal Green, East London, 20th century.

Until well into the second half of the 20th century, many households in Britain had very limited facilities at home for washing either their clothes or their bodies. Particularly in impoverished urban areas, public baths and laundries were essential and well used amenities. Many of them were built as a direct result of the public health reforms that began to emerged during the middle years of the 19th century, such as the pioneering Baths and Washhouses Acts of 1846 which had empowered local authorities to build public bathing and laundry facilities for the working classes through the use of local rates and government loans.

This small wooden duck (or slat) board is believed to have been provided for use in such a building – possibly the public baths and laundry at the junction of Cheshire Street and Abbey Street in Bethnal Green, which originally opened in 1899. Bathers would have used them while drying themselves rather than standing on the wet and slippery flooring.