Victorian Turkish Baths

Badhuis Diamantbuurt (1926) door architect Arend Jan Westerman in opdracht van de Gemeente Amsterdam.

🎨 Jean-Etienne Liotard

🎨 Ottoman Ladies at a Turkish Bath, Istanbul, c. 1750

The Chess Game by Duchamp, 1910, showing 2 men playing chess and 2 women, one have a coffee and the other lying on the grass.

♟️ 👨‍🎨 Marcel Duchamp was a notorious chess fanatic who repeatedly threatened to quit art for chess and coined the phrase:

💬 “While all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists.”

Read more: ideasroadshow.substack.com/p/sofonisbas...

🗃️ #arthistory #chess #art #skystorians

Dr Richard Barter, shortly before his death, standing next to the entrance to the latest of the Turkish baths built at St Ann's.

Portrait bust of Dr Barter by his namesake, the sculptor Richard Barter, who designed all of the doctor's Victorian Turkish baths in Ireland, as well as the one in London.

#onthisday, 3 Oct 1870, Dr Richard Barter died aged 68. An Irish physician, he built the 1st experimental Victorian #TurkishBaths at his St Ann's Hydro, realising David Urquhart's 30 yr dream of reintroducing the bath to the Br Isles. Barter associated with 9+ Tbs in Ireland, & 1 in London. 🗃️ #C19th

Engraving showing the front of the baths building. Originally the baths occupied only No. 63 Columbia Street (on the left of the building), but in 1867 a new Men's bath was opened next door at No. 65, while the original baths at No. 63 were converted for use by women.

Illustrated cover of a booklet, 'Rheumatism and its treatment by Turkish baths' published by Dr Shepard in 1892.

#onthisday, 3 October 1863, Dr Charles H Shepard added Victorian #TurkishBaths to his hydropathic 'sanitorium' at No.63 Columbia Street, #Brooklyn Heights, #NewYork &, in doing so, opened the first Turkish bath in the USA.
www.victorianturkishbath.org/_2HISTORY/At.... The baths closed 1913. 🗃️ #C19th

Is the site specially designed to look like a circuit board?

Advertisement for the baths shortly after they opened, detailing opening hours and charges. While the baths were never advertised as Turkish Baths for the Working Classes, this is how they were popularly known, possibly because they opened before the first class baths. Newspapers initially referred to them as such, and when Barter opened similar baths in Maylor Street, Cork, they were officially called Turkish Baths for the Destitute Poor and, more popularly as The People's Turkish Baths. (M'Comb's Guide to Belfast: the Giant's Causeway and adjoining districts of Antrim and Down…, 1861)

In 1892 the baths were bought by John North (who had previously purchased Barter's Upper Sackville Street baths in Dublin). He rebuilt them (image above) and renamed them the Belfast Hammam. Under further owners, they remained open till 1936 and were demolished ten years later. (Image courtesy the Belfast Telegraph)

#onthisday, 1 October 1860, Dr Barter opened #TurkishBaths for the Working Classes at 43 Little Donegal St, #Belfast. They were actually 2nd Class baths attached to the 1st Class baths opening on 1 November, but entered from 112 Donegal St. www.victorianturkishbath.org/_6DIRECTORY/... +ALT 🗃️ #C19th

Happy birthday to Historic Pools of Britain, 10 years old today, also Sporting Heritage Day @sportingheritage historicpools.org.uk We're happy to be part of Historic Pools and sorry we couldn't make it to today's event at City Baths Newcastle. Have a great day! #NSHD #SwimmingHistory #SportHistory

The image of the chapel is from the Illustrated London News (13 October 1888).

Contemporary photo of exterior of the baths with three men and a small girl at the door. (Photo courtesy of 'Paul')

Advertisement for the baths in the South London Press (2 January 1869)shortly after their opening, with charges and times.

The New Surrey Chapel, partly built on the site of the Turkish baths, was opened in 1888 with a sermon by the Rev C H Spurgeon. The building to the right looks similar in style to that housing the Turkish baths.

#onthisday, 30 September 1868, James Bryning opened the #Surrey #TurkishBaths at 191 Blackfriars Road, London. More about the image (with link to more about the baths) at www.victorianturkishbath.org/6DIRECTORY/A... The baths closed in 1888, becoming site 4 the New Surrey Chapel & Schools. 🗃️ #C19th

I also want to rejoin in my lifetime—and I'm 90 so I can't wait too long.

The Society is deeply concerned by a growing pattern of the Secretary of State refusing to add important historic buildings to the National Heritage List for England, even when formally recommended to do so by Historic England.
Read more: bit.ly/4pQKFSI
📷 Hotspur Press by Alan Davies

#heritage

I'm wondering if that was an ITMA catchphrase?

Exterior of Crewe baths with Manager, William Gawthorne (centre) standing in front.

Second Class and Company's Workman Turkish bath tickets. They were also available to workers' families and members of the public, for which women's days were provided.

Section and plan of the company's first Turkish baths.

The hottest room in the current Turkish baths, currently closed, hopefully temporarily, for refurbishment.

‪The 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway reminds us that if the railway companies didn't provide #TurkishBaths for their passengers, two of them did so for their staff. For info & pix: www.victorianturkishbath.org/_6DIRECTORY/... and www.victorianturkishbath.org/_6DIRECTORY/...

Cutting (courtesy BNA) from the 5 April issue of 'Railway Press' suggesting that Turkish baths be provided on sleepers.

Drawing of steam baths on a Russian Hospital train, card 77 of 100 from The Great War Series of cigarette cards issued by Gallaher.

The text on the reverse of the cigarette card explains how steam tank wagons were attached to the trains allowing steam to travel through pipes to the baths.

The 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway brings back memories of the Euston to Liverpool overnight sleepers. They weren't bad—though they never provided #TurkishBaths, as suggested in 1890 in the 'Railway Press'. However, some Russian trains included vapour baths for the wounded.

The upper half of a sitting fox facing left looking right created with small leaves in browns, orange and green all against a white background

#Fox by Helen Ahpornsiri, who creates intricate collage artworks created with real pressed flowers and leaves. #WomensArt #Autumn #Fall

How dispiritingly true, & of so many issues. I can understand—& sympathise with the delay—but why does corrected misinformation so frequently never reach the majority of those who read the offending piece? More to the point, cd this ever be achieved? Esp when academic status of researchers differs.

Advertisement in the Leeds Times (17 September 1859) announcing the forthcoming opening of Rawnsley's new bath, below which is an advertisement for Rawnsley's original baths, now under new ownership. Both men were Foreign Affairs Committeemen, and the dispute between the two also had political ramifications. More at https://victorianturkishbath.org/3TOPICS/AtoZArts/Porticos/pix/StPeters_w.htm, with image of The bath taken over by J G Walton.

#onthisday, 25 September 1859, Frederick S Rawnsley, Sec. of the St Peter's Foreign Affairs Committee in #Leeds, and Mgr of #TurkishBaths in St Peter's Square, opened his own establishment in Wade Lane. Surviving under several owners for almost 60 years, this early bath closed in 1916. +ALT 🗃️ #C19th

Quite likely, judging from some of the Bermondsey folk we knew when we lived in camberwell in the 60s.

So did they digitise all the books?

You do. pp.97-98

Main frontage of the baths building in Grange Road, just south of the Thames.

Plan of part of the basement which housed the Turkish baths. These comprised three hot rooms, plunge bath, shower room, shampooing room fitted for two shampooers, and provided with the usual shampoo slabs and bowls. There was also a complementary steam room.

The carpeted cooling-room at the baths, with loungers, tables and chairs, and thirteen cubicles, each containing a couch and small table, etc.

A still from a 1930s Bermondsey Council film 'Where there's life there's soap' promoting their Turkish baths. Can be viewed online, courtesy Wellcome Collection at https://wellcomecollection.org/works/zrgauwtq

#onthisday, 24 September 1927, #Bermondsey opened its £150,000 Grange Road Baths. Some papers lammed the council for providing 'luxurious' #TurkishBaths on the rates as they were well fitted out for a local authority facility. Gay friendly. Closed 1973—"structural defects". Demolished 1975. 🗃️ #C19th

Water fountain in the main hall at the Russell-Cotes Museum. #TilesOnTuesday

Fritz Spiegl would have appreciated this image since ear damage appears to have played a part in his exit from professional flute playing. In later years he would occasionally refer to having been "invalided out by the brass section". His Liverpool April Fool concerts were copied by Gerard Hoffnung.

Still life with aubergines

Still life with aubergines, 1911
https://botfrens.com/collections/48/contents/15866

Morning Tea

Morning Tea, 1920
https://botfrens.com/collections/48/contents/16521

That's a heathy plus!

Fascinating website, and one of the earliest individually compiled history websites around. Beware of addictive serendipity!

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