Wooden sauna from 1948 London Olympics gets Grade II listing

Historic wooden building wins protection after campaign involving Finland, which originally installed it

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.