"The design of the building was strictly functional, inside and out. No money was wasted on decoration, yet it was an aesthetically pleasing, elegant building. The entrance was far from grandiose. One walked past the gatekeeper's hut, along the wire netting that fenced in the playground, to the back of the building. Inside on the right, a concrete staircase led up to the main social floor; on the left was a pram and bicycle park and the door to the boiler room and the haunts of the maintenance engineer; ahead a broad passage with the entrance to the theatre/badminton court on the right and on the left the way in to the swimming pool and the gymnasium via the toilets and changing rooms. There were also four 'slipper baths' (much appreciated in the 1930s) on this side of the passage which ended in a door leading to the partly covered children's playground, at the end of which was the glass fronted, downstairs children's nursery.

Arriving on the first floor, one was greeted by light, space and movement, even when, early in the afternoon, the building might be almost empty. The southern wall was entirely of glass, and again by the widely spaced pillars of smooth grey concrete that supported the upper floors. The effect of movement was caused by the light shining down from the roof and reflecting from the rippling water of the pool.

One could sit and watch the swimmers and divers from the chairs and tables that lined the glass surround of the pool both on the northern (cafeteria) side and in the long gallery-like hall known as the Long Room that ran the whole length of the building on the south side. The tables and chairs were designed brilliantly by a young architect, Christopher Nicholson, who was shortly afterwards tragically killed in a gliding accident in mist over the Alps. Their design reflected the shape of the cruciform pillars between which they were placed, solid but not at all heavy in aspect. The tables were designed to seat the maximum number of people in a small space. The chair was made of a single sheet of thick plywood and padded with foam rubber, and was comfortable, good to look at and, like the tables, economical of space. At either end of the Long Room on its inner side were fifteen feet wide glass viewing windows' through which one could see down into the gymnasium and the theatre/badminton court which occupied spaces two storeys high.

From the street at night, the building shone with a welcoming light. The Long Room was particularly suitable for festive social gatherings but also for cosy meetings between acquaintances, because the spaces between the pillars supporting the upper storey formed alcoves along both the window and the pool sides that invited relaxed conversation. As one-time members recall, these alcoves served many useful purposes - a small birthday celebration for instance, or a place in which the shy or those who wanted to watch what was going on in the pool or on the dance floor without too obviously doing so or drawing attention to themselves could shelter. Young teenagers often availed themselves of this opportunity. The polished cork tiles covering the floors were ideal for dancing. The unadorned concrete and cork afforded a restful and neutral background in a building usually full of people, and, to my mind, it was attractive even when empty. In order to deaden noise in a building intended to accommodate 1,000 or more active individuals of all ages at one time, cork was also used to cover wall and ceilings, the last covered with a colour wash.

Throughout there was a pleasant absence of blank-walled corridors and closed doors. The only enclosed part of the building, apart from a committee room or two used also for listening to music or Dance Band practice, was the Consultation Block, popularly referred to as the 'medical department', which took up less than a quarter of the top floor. It included a small reception and waiting room, consulting rooms, changing cubicles and a laboratory.

Close to the Consultation Block, in a lightly partitioned off part of the long sunny hall that was a replica of the 'Long Room' on the floor below was the babies' and toddlers' nursery; and, in a corner of it, with a window overlooking the nursery, was the doctor's consultation room for mothers and babies.

The more effectively mobile of the under-fives were promoted to the nursery on the ground floor, adjacent to the outdoor playground and to the gymnasium and small 'learners' pool. This last was situated between the concrete tank of the main swimming pool and the gymnasium. It was about 8 feet wide and 25 feet long and was filled slowly each day, so that by 4.30 in the afternoon it was deep enough for an adult to learn in, while at 2.30, the depth of the water was a mere six to ten inches. Except during school holidays, a number of the older and more capable of the nursery children were allowed into the gym and the learners' pool, under close supervision, early in the afternoon, before the school-age children flocked in.

The space used for nurseries in the afternoons was available for adult use in the evenings. The exception was the ground floor nursery in which babies who could still sleep comfortably in the perambulators could be left, between 8 pm and 10.30 pm, in the charge of a nursery nurse.

The billiards tables (two full-size and a smaller one for the children's use), table tennis and darts boards were on the top floor at the western end of the building. The kitchen, with its self-service counter where tea, coffee, beer, cider, snacks and supper dishes could be bought by members, was the on the northern side of the cafeteria. It was entirely visible from the service counter, from which people helped themselves - and queued if necessary, so the cooking and preparation of dishes went on in full view of the members. Next to it was the small office with its hatch at which one could pay one's weekly family membership subscription. Here also, for three old pence, members could obtain a metal disk for use in the turnstiles at the entrances to the men's and women's changing rooms for the pool and gymnasium, and, for two old pence, borrow a key to one of the slipper baths.

The cafeteria became the main gathering point in the building and, at times during the evening, it became very crowded. It was hard on the members of staff who were bound to be in or near the office, taking subscriptions or being available. This was almost the only defect in a building that proved to have been designed almost perfectly for its purpose.

For the purpose of facilitating spontaneous participation in activities of all kinds and the practice of self-service, the design could not have been bettered. The number of servicing and administrative staff found to be necessary was very small indeed. People wandered freely everywhere and were able to see what there was to do and who was doing it without, as in a community centre I know, having to peer through a small glass door panel. Even if their intention on entering the building had been merely to enjoy a coffee or a beer in a friendly social atmosphere, they found movement and activity all around them. It was easy also to locate one's friends or the members of one's family if they were in the building, and for companionship to be a matter of choice and not merely chance.

The design also enabled the Biologists to observe the use made of the Centre by member-families with whom they had already become acquainted in the course of their duties in the consultation block or elsewhere in the building. Incidentally these duties left them no time - even if they had had the tactlessness to do so - to stand about, pencil and notebook in hand; but it was easy for them to notice what was going on when seizing a free moment to take a stroll around, or when taking their tea and supper breaks in the cafeteria.

I find it difficult to imagine a health-promoting club on the lines of the Peckham Centre operating successfully in a different kind of building. The design of the building was one of the factors that made it possible for the growth of the all-age community. It made it possible for children and adults to find their own chosen amusements within sight of each other, for the younger to find acceptance with the older and to learn from them consciously and unconsciously, and for young families to benefit from interaction with families at a later stage of development, and it helped all to discover their own tastes and abilities and to fulfil their potential for mature development.!"

Taken from Being Me and Also Us by Alison Stallibrass see publications

It was "furnished with the apparatus needed by the members to exercise their faculties and capabilities. For example, on the wide open social floors there is a cafeteria restaurant, a gymnasium, swimming-baths (one competition size and one shallow for the children), a theatre and concert-hall. Each of these is equipped with its special apparatus, and any partitioning of space is temporary and for the purpose of the moment only. All halls or spaces that need walls, such as the theatre and swimming-bath, have glass walls, for nothing should be hidden away or secreted."

Taken from The First health Centre. Lancet, March 16, 1946, page 393 by Innes H. Pearse see publications (Vicky - link to the Lancet)

"The walls were bare and when Professor Schilling, on a visit while a young doctor, asked why there was no colour, Dr Scott Williamson replied, "The people provide the colour". Lack of decoration also kept down the costs and maintenance. "

Taken from Positive Prospect for Health. Proceedings of a public meeting, December 1985, held by the Pioneer Health Centre Ltd. see publications