Pressure from an increasing population led to the town being supplied with amenities such as sewers, which were built in 1875–1880; and Sale was connected to the telephone network in 1888. As in the late-19th century, the early-20th century saw a great deal of construction work in Sale. The town's first swimming baths were built in 1914, and its first cinema, the Palace, was opened during the First World War. The end of the war in 1918 resulted in a rush of marriages, which highlighted a shortage of housing. The local councils of Sale and Ashton upon Mersey took the initiative of building council housing, and rented it to the local population at below market rates. By the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Sale had 594 council houses. The building programme was interrupted by the start of the war. additional private housing development brought the total of inter-war houses built in Sale to around 900, including large housing estates like Woodheys Hall estate in Ashton.