The Turkish bath at The Retreat, York:
cross-section of the dressing room,
drawn by architect Edward Taylor in 1889,
fifteen years after the baths opened
< 'Notes of ten years' experience in the use of the Turkish bath in the
treatment of mental ill-health' / Robert Baker Journal of mental science
(Jul 1889)
In 1889, Robert Baker, the asylum's Superintendent, gave a paper on ten years’ use of the Turkish bath at The Retreat. The published version included a plan with only one significant change from Taylor’s original.
The dressing room is now much larger, and is divided into cubicles, with couches enabling bathers to relax after their bath. It is not yet known whether the baths were originally built according to this plan, or if they were altered later.
This page enlarges an image or adds to the information found below:
The Retreat, York
Part 8: Turkish baths for special needs
Victorian Turkish Baths: their origin, development, and gradual decline
Comments and queries are most welcome and can be sent to:
malcolm@victorianturkishbath.org
The right of Malcolm Shifrin to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
© Malcolm Shifrin, 1991-2023