Nothing but a load of hot air:
some problems, conflicts, and controversies
arising during the development
of the Victorian Turkish bath
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Victorian Turkish Baths: their origin, development, and gradual decline
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10: Coda
Despite such controversies and technical problems, Turkish baths became increasingly popular throughout Victoria’s reign, with their gradual decline only beginning shortly after World War I.
| The five last Victorians | |
| 1868 | Swindon |
| 1871 | Glasgow: Arlington Baths Club |
| 1878 | Glasgow: Western Baths Club |
| 1897 | Harrogate |
| 1901 | Edinburgh: Portobello Baths |
In the UK in August 2016, only twelve Victorian-style Turkish baths were still open: five designed during Queen Victoria's reign, and seven later ones.
Postscript
In presenting a paper on this little-studied subject within a 20 minute conference slot, I had to choose between dealing in slightly greater depth with one or two issues, or trying to give a more general view of a range of issues arising from the introduction of the Turkish bath into Victorian Britain.
In the event, I chose the latter approach as being more likely to interest a greater number of those attending the conference in the hope that they might find links between the Victorian Turkish bath and their own areas of interest.
Some of these issues will be treated more fully on the website in due course.
This page revised and reformatted 09 February 2023
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Mr Punch visits the Turkish bath
Victorian Turkish Baths: their origin, development, and gradual decline
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malcolm@victorianturkishbath.org
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© Malcolm Shifrin, 1991-2023