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Victoria Baths
1: The Victoria
baths
The
Victoria Baths—'a handsome structure of red Ruabon brick and
terracotta built in the Renaissance style'—were
erected by Manchester Corporation's Baths and Wash-houses
Committee in 1903-6 to the design of the City Architect, Henry
Price. Covering a large area of 7,395 sq yds fronting
Chorlton-on-Medlock's High-Street (now known as Hathersage Road),
they were opened to much acclaim on 7 September 1906, when
the Lord Mayor described the building as 'a "water
palace", of which, he took it, every citizen of
Manchester was proud.'
The
baths were closed in 1993 despite a vigorous public campaign
which, though unsuccessful in stopping the closure, led to the
formation of the Friends
of Victoria Baths and the Victoria Baths
Trust both of which continue to campaign for the re-opening
of the baths as part of a Healthy Living Centre for Central
Manchester.
When originally built,
the main complex contained first and
second class swimming pools for males, and a smaller pool for
females. The first class bath for males had dressing-boxes at the
pool-side, and a balcony for spectators. Also included was a combined
diving-board-cum-water-chute which was over
twelve foot high. From the
street, access to
each pool was by way of what was then considered to be an appropriately sized
entrance—the largest
being for first class male bathers and the smallest
for the female bathers. In addition to the three pools there were 62 first and second class private slipper
baths, and both Russian and Turkish baths.
2:
The Turkish baths
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