Hathersage
Road, Victoria Park, Manchester M13.
The ornate
Edwardian buildings which are the Victoria Baths in Hathersage
Road, Victoria Park, are an historical and architectural jewel
in Manchester's treasury of great buildings. Despite this, the
baths have seen better days - they have been closed for a decade
and are by now in an advanced state of disrepair.
The Baths
were described when opened in 1906 as a "water palace of
which every citizen of Manchester is proud".
Manchster's
Public Baths & Wash Houses
Plans to provide public baths to the wards of Longsight, Rusholme
and St Luke' was first considered by Manchester Corporation's
Baths and Washhouses Committee in 1897.
High Street
(now Hathersage Road) was chosen as the most suitable site and
in 1899 a plot of land was purchased for £750. Henry Price
was appointed in June 1902 as the first City Architect, responsible
for carrying out and completing the project and the Baths were
completed and opened to the public in 1906 at an eventually
cost of £59,144 - then a small fortune and well over budget.
They were created by Manchester Corporation as part of a general
move to improve the health and well being of the ordinary people
of Manchester, and they operated as public swimming pools, wash
baths, Turkish Bath and a public hall from 1906 and sports hall
from the mid-1980s until its untimely closure in 1993.
The Water
Palace
The self-evident
quality, style and opulence of detailing, materials used and
its exuberant embellishments have deservedly earned it the title
of having been Manchester's "Water Palace". It was
a clear demonstration of the commitment, wealth and civic pride
that a great city felt it ought to show to its residents and
to the outside world, and it is widely held to be one of the
finest examples of municipal baths in the country, eventually
costing twice the original estimate to build.
Despite
its recent disuse and decline it is now probably the very finest
still in existence in England, though its future is severely
threatened.
Externally it is comprised of fine red brick and terra cotta
with ornate mouldings; inside it makes extensive use of stained
glass, deep green Art Nouveau period ceramic wall tiles, wrought
iron balustrades and expansive decorative mosaic floors. Despite
a few later modifications, the building is still essential in
its original condition.
Water was
supplied clean and pure via its own on-site water supply via
its own well and pumping system which supplied water to each
pool. Clean water was in itself an original and new concept
which must have seemed like a wonder of the age to those living
in Manchester's slums.
Laundry
& Turkish Baths
The Victoria Baths also had its own laundry block used to wash
the towels used by swimmers and Turkish Baths customers. Later
the laundry was used by local people as a public washhouse.
There were
also swimming events, galas, free swimming lessons, and, for
the more affluent visitor there were the Turkish Baths.
At a time
when ordinary people lived in very poor conditions, the Baths
must have seemed like the ultimate luxury, but their most important
function was as a vehicle to promote better health and hygiene
amongst the working poor.
Male
& Female Swimming Baths
The Baths actually have three swimming pools, ('First Class
Males', 'Second Class Males' and 'Females') at a time when the
concept of first and second class citizens was perfectly acceptable.
he First
Class Males Pool (also known as 'The Gala Pool'), is the most
elaborate with its high glazed vaulted ceiling.
A balcony
runs around the pool and there is extensive use of stained glass.
Iron and wood cubicles line the length of either side. The second
pool, (Second Class Males) is considerably less ornate and was
covered over in the 1980s to create a sports hall.
The Females
pool is smaller but of a similar pattern, though even less decorated,
though there is some beautiful stained glass depicting purple
irises.
In 1952 the first municipal 'Aerotone' bath in the country was
installed - similar in concept to the modern Jacuzzi. Both the
Turkish Baths the Aerotone were popular facilities right up
until the time of its closure.
