Facilities

Find more information below on the facilities available to you while working at Walter Bower House.

IT help point

The IT help point provides in-person support to the staff who are working at WBH. You’ll find the help point on the ground floor (to the right of reception in the IT Services area). The service is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm.

Contemplation room

There is a room on the ground floor available for activities that need a bit of quiet time away from work. This could include prayer, meditation, breastfeeding, expressing, emotional time-outs or just general quiet contemplation. You can also use the room for first aid or recovery.

The room is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Treat the space and others who need it with respect. It is not for work activities, phone calls or food.

Food and drink

Tindal’s café offers a selection of hot and cold meals, snacks and barista coffee It is currently open from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday. It also features a free Brita Vivreau chilled still and sparkling water dispenser. The cafe is cashless and accepts card payments only.

The six tea prep areas and staff room have Zip HydroTaps, providing boiling and chilled water at a push of a button (the water is very hot – please be careful). Free milk, tea and coffee supplies are also available in the staff room and tea prep areas.

The staff room is the place to prepare and eat your own home-prepared food. This room has microwaves, fridges, a dishwasher and plenty of space to eat and take a break from your work. For the benefit of your colleagues, please don’t eat food in the working areas.

The fridges are available for day use but are not designed for long-term food storage. They will be regularly emptied to keep them clean and efficient.

Gym

The WBH gym is open from 6.30am to 9.45pm, Monday to Friday. It is available for WBH staff with a full Saints Sport membership or Walter Bower House gym membership. Find out more about membership options on the Saints Sport website.

The gym has a selection of both cardiovascular and strength equipment including

treadmills
an elliptical cross trainer
a running machine
a rowing machine
indoor cycling bikes
a multigym training station
a Smith machine
workout benches
selection of dumbbells and stretch mats.

For more detailed information about how to use the WBH gym safely and effectively, please check the terms and conditions you signed up to when becoming a member of Saints Sport.

Please also adhere to Covid safety protocols when using the gym.

Library

The Library is based on the ground floor and holds print and audio-visual materials mainly from our research collections; our teaching collections remain largely located in libraries in town. You are welcome to browse and borrow the collections and use the small reading room within the Library which has self-issue and printing facilities. In the reading room there will be regular displays covering areas we hope will interest staff based at Walter Bower House and would welcome your suggestions for this (please email [email protected]). We are planning to make displays of fiction around different themes available for you to borrow from, too.

Search the Library to discover our diverse and broad collection, including areas such as Human Resources, Business, Management and Finance, and you can also access our scanning service, which allows you to request an extract of material to be scanned (within copyright limitations) and emailed directly to you.

Mail and deliveries

The central mailroom delivers to WBH every weekday.

The WBH mailroom has lockers designated for each unit. Within these lockers you will find a mail bag (or bags) used to drop off the unit’s incoming mail each day. These bags are also used for outgoing mail, both internal and external.

Individual units can decide how to use the mailroom to suit their own operational needs. For example, when to drop off and pick up mail each day and which staff members are responsible for this task.

Larger deliveries can be signed for by reception and will be placed in the mailroom for you to pick up with the rest of your mail.

Rubbish, recycling and confidential waste

There are three bins at each tea prep area:

Dry mixed recycling (for newspapers, magazines, cardboard, cartons, plastic bottles, cans, tins)
Food waste
General non-recyclable waste

There is also general paper recycling and confidential paper collection available at the print hubs.

Glass can be recycled at the main Guardbridge recycling point just across the road from WBH.

Toilets, showers, changing rooms and drying room

There are 34 single cubicle WCs found throughout the building. All toilets are gender-neutral with an integrated sink and hand dryer.

There are five showers in total: two in the male changing area, two in the female changing area and one gender-neutral, accessible shower.

Lockers are available for you to use during the day or while working out. The lockers are designed for temporary day use only and will be emptied at the end of each day with items kept at reception.

There is also a drying room on the ground floor to store and dry particularly wet clothes.