Shandon Hydro was one of the more successful Scottish hydros and opened in 1880. It was requisitioned during both world wars, reopening between them, and briefly after the second. It closed in 1957 and was demolished to make way for part of the expansion of the naval base at Faslane.

The house was originally built as a private house for Robert Napier, the shipbuilder. On his death in 1876, it was purchased by a largely Glasgow-based syndicate who added a swimming pool and the Turkish baths before opening it as a hydro.1 It is not known when the Turkish baths stopped being used, but it seems unlikely that they survived World War II, and may even have closed before then.
The two pages reproduced below—pages three and four—are taken from a four page 'winter circular' published at the end of the nineteenth century. They show the winter charges and the 'General Regulations'. Strict though these seem, they are less severe than those in several other similar establishments. 'Visitors who formerly wintered in the South of France have found in the Sheltered position of Shandon, on the shores of the Gareloch, equal protection from the severity of the weather with all the comforts and conveniences of Home.'

Pages 3 and 4 of a winter circular from the late 1800s  

This item is also from the collection of the Victorian Turkish Baths Project

This page last updated 16 October 2024