Victoria Baths

Historical bathing venue in Manchester

Victoria Baths

Victoria Baths, Manchester

Location within Greater Manchester

General information
Town or city| Manchester
Country| England
Coordinates| 53°27′36″N 2°12′58″W﻿ / ﻿53.46°N 2.216°W﻿ / 53.46; -2.216
Completed| 1906 (1906)
Cost| £59,144[1]
Client| Manchester Corporation
Designations|

Listed Building – Grade II*

Official name| Victoria Baths with attached forecourt walls
Designated| 18 January 1983
Reference no.| 1200808
Website
victoriabaths.org.uk

Victoria Baths is a Grade II* listed building,[2] in the Chorlton-on-Medlock area of Manchester, England. The baths opened to the public in 1906 and cost £59,144 to build. Manchester City Council closed the baths in 1993 and the building was left empty. A multimillion-pound restoration project began in 2007. As of 2024[update], the building is on English Heritage's Heritage at Risk Register.[3][4]

## History

[edit]

Stalls surrounding the main pool in 2011 Stained glass window, the "angel of purity" in the Turkish baths

The baths were designed by the city surveyor, T. de Courcy Meade, and his assistant, Arthur Davies. The work was supervised by Henry Price, the newly appointed city architect.[5] The baths were opened in September 1906 by the Lord Mayor of Manchester who described the building as a "water palace".[6] For 86 years the baths provided both essential washing and leisure facilities. Private baths and a laundry were housed there along with three swimming pools and a Victorian-style Turkish bath, later a sauna was added. The main swimming pool was floored over in the winter months to hold dances. In 1952 the Victoria Baths installed the first public Aeratone™ bath (an early type of Jacuzzi™ whirlpool) in the country.

In the design and construction of the baths, a great deal of money was expended, Manchester having at that time one of the world's wealthiest municipal coffers. The façade has multi-coloured brickwork and terracotta decoration, the main interior public spaces are clad in glazed tiles from floor to ceiling and most of the many windows have decorative stained glass.

The baths were closed by Manchester City Council in 1993.[6] The Friends of Victoria Baths was formed and began to investigate the possibility of running the Victoria Baths independently.

Various fundraising attempts failed to bring about a restoration of the baths, although work to prevent further deterioration of the building started in 1998.

### Restoration

[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2024)

|

The interior in 2010

In September 2003, the baths won the first series of the BBC's Restoration programme. The building was chosen by a public phone-vote from a shortlist of 10 buildings in danger of dereliction in the UK. It was awarded £3.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the money raised through the phone-voting process.[7] The Prince of Wales visited the baths a month later to help celebrate the win.[8]

It was intended that the money would be spent on re-opening the Turkish baths by around 2006, with other parts following later at a cost of around £15–20 million.[9] However, the redevelopment plans were dealt a blow one year later when quantity surveyors delivered a much larger estimate of £6.3 million to restore the Turkish baths. The Heritage Lottery Fund requested further details about the full redevelopment before they would hand over any money for the first phase.[10] Final planning approval to begin a restoration process was not received until September 2005.[citation needed]

In September 2006, as part of a number of events to mark the centenary of the building's opening, the gala pool was filled for the first time in 13 years.[11][12]

The first phase of restoration work consisting of structural work and repairs began on 19 March 2007,[13] and was completed in September 2008.[14] In 2011 the baths were used as a filming location,[15] a concert venue,[16] and an exhibition centre.[17] On 16 April 2017, the baths were once again reopened for an invite-only acid house dance pool party hosted by Boiler Room, The Warehouse Project, and Fac 51 The Warehouse. This was called "The Other Side of Midnight". The event was also live streamed on YouTube; the video is unlisted. In 24 July 2025, Drake and Central Cee used the baths as part of the album rollout campaign for the upcoming album “Iceman” as well as their new collaboration single “Which One”.

## See also

[edit]

* Greater Manchester portal

* Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester
* Listed buildings in Manchester-M13
* Mayfield Baths

## References

[edit]

1. ^ History, Victoria Baths, 22 May 2008, retrieved 31 January 2010
2. ^ Victoria Baths With Attached Forecourt Walls, Heritage Gateway, retrieved 29 March 2012
3. ^ Heritage At Risk Register 2009 – North West (PDF), English Heritage, 2009, p. 54, retrieved 31 January 2010
4. ^ "Victoria Baths with attached forecourt walls, Hathersage Road, Longsight - Manchester". historicengland.org.uk. Historic England. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
5. ^ 'City's new baths' Manchester Courier (7 September 1906) p.10
6. ^ a b Baths need £2.5m for restoration, BBC News, 9 August 2004, retrieved 17 November 2010
7. ^ Baths win £3.4m Restoration final, BBC News, 14 September 2003, retrieved 17 November 2010
8. ^ Snowdon, Neal (25 October 2003), "Baths get the prince's seal", Manchester Evening News
9. ^ Ottewell, David (30 December 2003), "Big splash for saved baths may take years", Manchester Evening News
10. ^ Tapp, Blaise (9 August 2004), "Blow to 'saved' baths", Manchester Evening News
11. ^ Frame, Don (19 September 2006), "Victoria Baths fills up with water", Manchester Evening News, retrieved 17 November 2010
12. ^ Rooth, Ben (7 September 2006), "Water way to celebrate baths' 100th birthday", Manchester Evening News, retrieved 17 November 2010
13. ^ Baths restoration gets under way, BBC News, 19 March 2007, retrieved 17 November 2010
14. ^ Baths restoration moves forward, BBC News, 17 September 2008, retrieved 17 November 2010
15. ^ Bourne, Dianne (27 January 2011), "Will Young's spooky new drama Bedlam filmed in Manchester", Manchester Evening News, MEN Media, archived from the original on 9 November 2011, retrieved 29 March 2012
16. ^ "Water music: Victoria Baths provide unusual backdrop for concert", Manchester Evening News, MEN Media, 19 May 2011, retrieved 29 March 2012
17. ^ "Take the plunge: Swimwear exhibtion [sic] at Victoria Baths", Manchester Evening News, MEN Media, 2 April 2011, retrieved 29 March 2012

## Further reading

[edit]

* Gordon, Ian; Inglis, Simon (2009), Great lengths: The Historic Indoor Swimming Pools of Britain, English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-905624-52-2
* Lloyd Evans Prichard (2004), Victoria Baths Conservation Plan (PDF), Lloyd Evans Prichard, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011
* Williams, Prue (2004), Victoria Baths: Manchester's Water Palace, Spire Books, ISBN 978-1-904965-01-5

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* BBC Restoration website
* Victoria Baths Manchester Archives+

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