Turkish Baths, Lincoln Place

Former Victorian building in Dublin, Ireland

Turkish Baths, Lincoln Place

A photograph of the baths circa 1860-70.

General information
Type| Private baths
Classification| Demolished
Address| Lincoln Place, Dublin
Town or city| Dublin
Country| Ireland
Coordinates| 53°20′31″N 6°15′04″W﻿ / ﻿53.341985°N 6.251095°W﻿ / 53.341985; -6.251095
Construction started| 1858
Completed| 1860
Opened| 2 February 1860
Design and construction
Architect(s)| (Mr) Richard Barter
Developer| Richard Barter (physician)
Other designers| James Hogan & Son (Plasterers)
Quantity surveyor| Dwyer (Clerk of works)
Main contractor| Michael Meade & Son
References
[1][2]

The Victorian Turkish baths was a private bathing house at Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland opened on 2 February 1860.[3][4]

It operated as a bathing complex until around 1900, when it was used for other commercial uses and offices before finally being demolished in 1970.

## History

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### Design and construction

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The baths opened on 2 February 1860 having been developed by Dr Richard Barter for the Turkish Bath Company of Dublin Limited, which was founded in 1859.[5]

Centre-left of image, with pseudo-minarets, is the western corner of the baths which housed a restaurant.

Designed by the sculptor and architect Mr Richard Barter, Dr Barter's namesake,[6][7] the building was well received by the Dublin Builder magazine, which praised Irish builders for executing the unusual design so well noting particularly the elaborate plaster decoration on the facade carried out by Hogan & Sons of nearby Great Brunswick Street.[8][5] The general contractor was Michael Meade & Sons also later of nearby Great Brunswick Street but at that time of Westland Row and working on his first recorded project.[9]

On either side of central ticket office were two separate bathing areas for men and women. A very prominent feature was the 50 foot high ogee-shaped dome which sat above the company board room.[10] The interior featured "oriental arches and coloured bricks" and the floors were fitted with patterned tiles from Mintons.[8] At the rear of the building, there was a bathing area for animals including horses.[5] The main frontage was 186 feet long.[10]

### Operations and trading

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Initially very successful, the baths served 90 bathers a day for the first 4 years of operation.[11]

There was an adjoining restaurant on the western corner of the building which was leased out to a succession of proprietors and was originally known as the Café de Paris, the first documented French restaurant in Dublin.[5]

The bath attendants wore red dressing gowns and Turkish slippers,[11] and served coffee and a chibouk to patrons relaxing after their bath.[8]

Dr Barter left the business by 1867, and later opened a baths known as The Hammam on Sackville Street on 17 March 1869.[12] The baths at Lincoln Place were subsequently refurbished in 1867, and again in 1875 in two phases. The works in 1875 saw the installation of modern showers and a plunge bath. With competition from The Hammam and new baths on St Stephen's Green, the baths went into liquidation in 1880 and were offered for sale by tender. They were purchased by the owners of the St Stephen's Green baths, Millar and Jury, and were modernised further.

John Curran is recorded as manager of the baths in Bray and later at Lincoln Place prior to his death in 1886.[13]

After a series of events including a court case for negligence, Millar and Jury sold the baths in 1900.[5]

### Closure and demolition

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After its closure and over the course of the next 70 years the building was used for a number of commercial purposes before it was ultimately demolished in 1970.[10]

## In popular culture

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The baths are mentioned in James Joyce's Ulysses, where Leopold Bloom refers to them as "the mosque of the baths".[10][8][14]

## See also

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* Merrion Hall
* Oriel House, Westland Row
* Sweny's Pharmacy

## External links

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* Photographs of the baths from the National Library of Ireland collection
* Images of the baths from the RTE photo archives

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turkish Baths, Lincoln Place.

## References

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1. ^ 'The new baths, Lincoln-Place'. Dublin Builder. (1 January 1860). p.176
2. ^ "Turkish Baths, Lincoln Place". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
3. ^ 'The Turkish bath in Dublin. Freeman's Journal. (3 February 1860). p.3
4. ^ "Irish Builder and Engineer". Howard MacGarvey & Sons. 1859. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
5. ^ a b c d e "Victorian Turkish baths: Ireland: Dublin: Lincoln Place". www.victorianturkishbath.org. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
6. ^ Crosbie, Thomas (1896). 'Necrology: Richard Barter, Sculptor'. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Ser. 2 p.86
7. ^ Strickland, Walter G. (1913) A dictionary of Irish artists, Vol.1: A to K. (Dublin; London: Maunsel). p.46
8. ^ a b c d Breathnach, Teresa (2004). "For health and pleasure: the Turkish bath in Victorian Ireland". Victorian Literature and Culture. 32 (1): 159–175. doi:10.1017/S1060150304000427. ISSN 1060-1503. JSTOR 25058658. S2CID 162306440. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
9. ^ Galavan, Susan (28 April 2017). "Dublin's bourgeois homes: building the Victorian suburbs, 1850-1901". Routledge. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
10. ^ a b c d "1860: Turkish baths, Lincoln Place, Dublin". Archiseek: Irish architecture. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
11. ^ a b Oram, Hugh (6 February 2017). "Full steam ahead: an Irishman's diary on Turkish baths". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
12. ^ Shifrin, Malcolm. (2015). Victorian Turkish baths. (Swindon: Historic England) pp.47-49
13. ^ "MacCarthy Mor (No.1) family genealogy: Irish pedigrees". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
14. ^ "Victorian Turkish baths: the arts: Bloomsday". www.victorianturkishbath.org. Retrieved 30 January 2024.