The Camberwell Baths were the first local authority baths in London to include a Turkish baths suite. They were opened in 1905 and remained open for 40 years, being destroyed in the blitz during the last months of World War II.
The second and third hot rooms are coloured orange and red on the mini-plan. (Click for
enlarged plan)
There were three rooms of differing degrees of heat: the tepidarium, maintained at 110-120ºF (not shown in this image); the calidarium, maintained at 180ºF and the hottest room, the laconicum, heated to a temperature range of 250-280ºF.
The walls were of glazed brickwork with coloured bands, while the ceiling was panelled with enamelled iron and oak ribs. The floor was of mosaic and terrazzo, and the benches, under which ran the ventilating flues, had a marble top.
© Malcolm Shifrin, 1991-2023