Britain’s oldest wooden sauna, a rare survivor of the 1948 London Olympics, has been given protected status by the government after a campaign involving the Finnish ambassador to the UK, Finland’s Olympic committee and a small group of sauna enthusiasts from Kent who until recently were still using the historic facility.
The prefabricated wooden building, which was installed in London during the postwar “austerity” Games and is almost unchanged since, has been Grade II-listed, giving it the same level of protection as the Barbican, Alexandra Palace and the Radio City tower in Liverpool.
Historic England, which oversees the national register of protected buildings, said the building was a “unique relic” of the event. “This building has got multiple layers of significance that make it so interesting,” said Tim Horne, the organisation’s listing adviser.
As well as being one of a tiny handful of buildings known to survive from the Games, he said, it was believed to be the oldest sauna in Britain in continuous use, and possibly the oldest Olympic sauna in the world, “which is quite exciting”.
The Finnish company that provided the building, Puutalo Oy, played an important role in the development of postwar prefabricated structures, and the building’s level of preservation is highly unusual.
“Any one of those would contribute to being a building of special interest, but the multiple layers of significance, and all the interesting historical associations that go with that, made it a clear listing recommendation.”
The modest building was installed in London by the Finnish Olympic delegation for the use of its athletes, and was donated to the nation after the Games concluded.
After the Olympics, the sauna was acquired by a paper company with links to Finnish timber and moved to Aylesford near Maidstone to be used by members of the company’s staff social club. It was lovingly maintained and remained in constant use by a group of former employees, now known as Cobdown sauna club.
“We knew it was important, but we didn’t realise how important,” said Richard Young, the club’s secretary and treasurer.
Club members had first contacted Finland’s Olympic committee after the sauna was forced to close in 2020 due to faulty electrics, a non-compliance with fire safety regulations and a broken sauna oven. They in turn alerted the Finnish ambassador in London, Jukka Siukosaari, who personally visited before joining the campaign for its protection.
Young said he hoped the newly protected status would open the door to potential grant funding to help restore the sauna. “But really, the main thing was to secure its future.”
• This article was amended on 19 January 2024. The body that oversees the national register of protected buildings is Historic England, not Heritage England.
