Glossop Road Baths is a building in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
, England, which originally housed a
swimming pool and
Turkish bath
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...
s.
The first
public bath
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
s in the city were opened on the site in 1836, following the
cholera epidemic of 1832. The complex was rebuilt from 1877 to 1879 to a design by E. M. Gibbs, including an indoor swimming pool was opened, a Turkish bath suite and a
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
. In 1898, the complex was bought by the
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
and a ladies' bath was added. The facade was rebuilt in 1908–1910 by Arthur Nunweek.
After a period of decline at the end of the 20th century and later closure of the baths, the building was largely converted to residential accommodation, with a
Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It o ...
bar called "The Swim Inn" in the former main swimming pool area. The Turkish baths were fully modernised and reopened as ''Spa 1877'' in 2004, but closed again in 2019.
References
*Ruth Harman and John Minnis, ''Sheffield'' (
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...
)
External links
VICTORIAN TURKISH BATHS:Glossop Road Turkish BathsSpa 1877City council's leisure guide information
Buildings and structures in Sheffield
Cultural infrastructure completed in 1879
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