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Edinburgh/Fleming's
Turkish Baths
As
befits an establishment advertised as being located in Edinburgh's Princes Street, the Turkish
bath opened by A H Allshorn in 1861 appears to have been quite
spacious and well laid out. In fact, the baths were at the back of
the Balmoral Hotel in Rose Street Lane, being reached by a long passage
from Princes Street.
A publicity leaflet
headed 'First Class Turkish Bath', and issued just over one and a half
years later, claims that it was built 'on the model of Jermyn Street
Bath'. This must have been intended to describe the general arrangement
of the bath and its facilities rather than the decorative style, which
showed no obvious Turkish influence. But the first hot room had a
central raised platform and several smaller ones round the outside of
the room for bathers to recline on. Glass doors and a central glass
screen divided it from the cooling-room with the plunge pool straddling
the two rooms allowing bathers to swim underwater below the dividing
screen.
Rain and douche
showers, a first class swimming bath, and (by prior arrangement) a
smaller baths suite for women, were also advertised in the leaflet. The
baths were open daily from 8.00 am till 9 pm, with entrance after six in
the evening being reduced from 2/6d to 1/6d. No additional charge was
made for shampoos. For those not using the Turkish bath, a charge of 1/-
was made for the swimming bath.
A H Allshorn was a
homeopathic chemist and he was assisted, initially at least, by Dr G E
Allshorn (whose testimonial 'The best Baths either in London or anywhere
else' is, surprisingly, included amongst others in the leaflet). Perhaps
this accounts for the lack of any of the outright claims that the
Turkish bath cures specific diseases which are to be found in so many
other proprietors' publicity. Rather, in the manner which we are
accustomed to in 21st century television ads, the leaflet claims that
Turkish baths 'have been found beneficial' in cases of colds, influenza,
bronchitis, rheumatism, sciatica, dyspepsia, indigestion, lumbago, gout,
stomach, 'and all nervous complaints.'
Some time
between 22 April and 12 August 1865, The Edinburgh Turkish baths moved
to 76 South Clerk Street. What happened to
Allshorn's original baths is
not yet clear, though local directories show that Turkish baths were
open again on the site by 1868 and that a swimming bath had been added
to the facilities.
By 1875 Thomas Fleming
had become the owner of baths which were now known as Fleming's Turkish
Baths. An advertisement for the baths under Fleming's ownership
makes no mention of a swimming pool but only 'Plunge, Hot Water, and
Shower Baths' so the initial existence of a separate swimming pool must
be open to question. Allshorn may have been referring to the plunge pool
as a swimming pool. Alternatively, the swimming pool may have been
little used (being more expensive than the larger public baths) and been
discontinued. The main change at this time was that the Turkish bath was
open to women from 8.00 till 11.00 every morning, while the men's hours
were from 11.00 till 9.00 at night.
At one o'clock
in the morning of 2 April 1888 the baths caught fire and in spite of the
Fire Brigade's valiant efforts with three separate sources of water, the
fire was not extinguished for several hours.
By this time,
the entire roof of the back portion
of the premises was destroyed, while the furnishings of the bath-room
proper, as well as of the smaller rooms, were also greatly damaged—smoke
and water having completed the work of the flames so far as the internal
fittings were concerned.
It is thought
that the fire originated in the hot room at the western end of the
building and was caused by the heating apparatus. The damage was
estimated at about £1,000 and although the owner of the building was
insured for his share of the damage, Fleming had not insured his share
as tenant.
This seems to
have marked the end of Fleming's career as a Turkish baths proprietor.
When the baths reopened, there was a new lessee, Alexander Hardie, and Fleming seems also
to have needed to sell the Ladies' Turkish baths which he had opened
in Stafford Street barely eighteen months earlier.
The
refurbished and refurnished premises reopened on 11 December 1888, being
advertised simply as The Original Turkish Baths. No proprietor was named
but their listing in the 1890 Macdonald's Scottish directory
referred to them as the
Edinburgh Turkish and Other Baths, and showed that
Alexander Hardie was still the lessee.
The last proprietor so far
identified,
from around 1893 till at least 1915, was William Cameron. He
had previously been the Manager of the privately owned
Drumsheugh
Swimming Club
from its opening in 1882 until it too burnt down in 1892. Although the club
was also rebuilt and speedily re-opened, Cameron must have decided that by
this time he was ready to run his own Turkish bath.
It is not yet known when the baths
closed. An advertisement which appeared on 27 March 1920, offering the
ground floor of the building for sale, indicated that it was 'presently
occupied as Turkish baths'. Since the baths occupied part a building in
the most important commercial street in Edinburgh, it seems unlikely
that it would have been allowed to remain empty for any length of time.
Unless further evidence comes to light, then, it must be assumed that
the baths remained open till 1920.
The original page
includes footnotes,
and thumbnail pictures which can be enlarged.
All the enlarged images, listed and linked below, can also be printed.
Hot room, cooling-room and plunge pool
Part of a leaflet
Card showing charges in 1890
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