Reproductie van een tekening van het interieur van de Kensington Baths te Londen before 1889

Sprague & Co. created this reproduction of a drawing detailing the interior of the Kensington Baths in London. In the Victorian era, public baths like these served as important social spaces, but access was often shaped by class. For the working class, these baths were essential for hygiene, while the middle and upper classes saw them as places for leisure and exercise. Gender also played a role, with separate swimming times or entirely different facilities for men and women, reflecting the era's rigid social norms. As you look at the drawing, consider how such spaces would have been experienced differently depending on one's social standing. Did these baths promote social mixing, or did they reinforce existing hierarchies? The architecture itself, with its grand design, speaks volumes about the values placed on hygiene and public health during the time, but also about the underlying social divisions.