Originally a men’s swimming gala and Turkish baths suite, Victoria Bath’s now hosts many events throughout the year, from yoga festivals to pop up cinema screenings.
When building work was complete in 1906 it gained the nickname ‘The Water Palace’ after £59,000 was spent, double the amount of a normal swimming bath at that time. Hot water and heating was produced by Galloway boilers fired by hand shovelled coal furnaces, the same boilers used in steam trains.
Manchester Corporation built several ‘Victorian Turkish Bath’s’ around Manchester, including Victoria Bath’s. The first Turkish bath opened to the public in England was in 1857 on Broughton Lane Manchester, with the first display advertisement in 1858 by William Potter.
Potter claimed a Turkish bath could cure a number of aliments such as colds, influenza, gout, rheumatism, and liver disorders and stated this in his advert. Whilst others at the time appealed to women promising softer hair and a more beautiful complexion.
Surprisingly, at several baths women were given separate entrances or were given time slots in which only women were allowed. Fines were placed on any man who entered the women’s bathroom by proprietors, wishing to give women a therapeutic and comfortable experience.
However, women’s facilities were considerably smaller and could only be used once or twice a week. They were given the men’s smaller second class bath’s meaning they were often very crowded.
The main element that makes The Turkish bath different to other types including The Roman bath (a mix of both) and Russian bath (steam room) is the type of hot air. While most steam rooms and saunas use hot wet air, the Turkish bath uses hot dry air in which the user moves from one room to another progressing in temperature in order to sweat as much as possible.
This was then followed by a cold water plunge and a full body wash and massage, often called the shampooing room. They would then finally sit in the cooling room to relax. Victoria Bath’s contained three hot rooms, a shampooing room, a shower, Russian bath and a rest room.
Many used the bath’s not only to swim and relax but also to wash. As many didn’t have access to their own toilet or clean running cold water, let alone hot, for the richest in society this became a bathing spot.
By the 1920s mixed sessions were run every Sunday at Victoria Bath’s allowing for family swimming sessions and by the 1930s treated water was introduced to kill bacteria and allow for reusable water.
There were many award winning swimmers who trained at the bath’s including channel swimmer Sunny Lowry and Olympic swimmer John Besford.
In the winter months, the water was cleared and the bottom of the gala pool was used for dances and bowling. It brought the community together in more ways than one over the decades, but in 1993 it was closed by the council due to unjust expenditure. Large protests to keep the community spot open were sadly ignored.
The space is now used for pop-up cinema events which are very popular. Deck chairs in the pool bottom and the seats surrounding the pool are used for showings of popular movies at Valentines, Christmas and Halloween. It has also been used for art exhibitions and offers detailed tours to visitors on Sunday open days.
After winning the BBC’s programme providing a large grant in 2003, restoration continues. Victoria Bath’s hopes to establish the building as a “vibrant international heritage visitor attraction” celebrating the nation’s swimming history in an “inspirational setting for events and contemporary arts; promoting health and well-being by restoring the well-loved architectural gem so the public may again experience the Turkish Baths and swim in an historic pool.”
More information can be found at Victoria Bath’s website here.
Investigating Ardwick 