What is a bath chair?

This is a product which is often confused with a bath lift and can often throw many people off the trail when they are looking for bath-related help with their disabilities. Essentially, a bath chair, invented in Bath and hence its name, was a precursor to the wheelchair and is no longer used anymore as more modern variations on the idea have taken its place. It was a rolling chaise or light carriage with a folding hood, which could be opened or closed, and a glass frontage. It was mounted on three or four wheels and was generally used by physically disabled people during the middle of the 18th Century. As you can tell from the description, it was essentially a cross between a pram and a wheelchair and was used to ferry people to the hospital or simply around town.

Intriguingly, they were not pushed by a person but were rather pulled by an animal, often a small pony, which is certainly a sight which would liven up a lot of high streets today! Several of the later versions went on to include steering devices which the passenger in the bath chair could use.

Bath Lift Information Guide: