Conservation Plan

The Conservation Plan for Victoria Baths was commissioned by the Victoria Baths Trust and produced by Lloyd Evans Prichard and the Architectural History Practice.

The Plan is a long, comprehensive study which assesses the architectural and historic significance of Victoria Baths and sets out policies for the management and development of the Baths in the future.

A summary of the Conservation Plan is below. The full Plan is in two sections. The Conservation Plan itself includes:
• Background,
• Understanding,
• Significance,
• Issues and Policies
• Bibliography
The Gazetteer contains a room by room record and assessment of the building.

Please note that the Plan will download at a reduced size. You can use the Zoom controls of Acrobat Reader to size it more appropriately (75% - 100%).

The Conservation Plan for Victoria Baths is now in the public realm and we are happy to receive feedback on its contents from groups and individuals. If you would like to comment on the Conservation Plan, or have any queries relating to it, please email gill.wright@victoriabaths.org.uk

Victoria Baths Conservation Plan – Executive Summary

This Conservation Plan for Victoria Baths was commissioned by the Victoria Baths Trust. It has been prepared by The Architectural History Practice and Lloyd Evans Prichard and follows terms of reference set out in the English Heritage led document ‘Brief for a Conservation Plan’.

The plan aims to research and examine the history of the site, assess its significance and set out a policy framework for the management and development of the Baths in the future.

Victoria Baths is owned by Manchester City Council. The buildings became run-down in the 1980s but remained open until 1993 when despite local opposition, the complex was closed and Manchester Victoria Baths Trust was born.

Victoria Baths is a fine example of the high quality of social amenities provided in nineteenth and early twentieth century England which came about as a result of reforms to The English Poor Law, various Acts of Parliament and other legislature which provided local authorities with the power to implement social provision and facilitated the borrowing of public money for such improvements.

At this time Bath Houses were seen as a way of promoting cleanliness, exercise and the general self-improvement of the working classes. Designed initially by the City Surveyor’s Department and constructed under the control of the City Architect Henry Price, Victoria Baths was opened in 1906, built on the site of the former Victoria Park Lawn Tennis Club on what is now Hathersage Road.

Renaissance in style, Victoria Baths’ exterior is of red brick and elaborated with creamy-yellow terracotta, a combination of colours often observed in Edwardian buildings constructed for public use. The interior finishes are extravagant, including mosaic flooring, decorative wrought ironwork, glazed ceramic tiling and stained glass, even to be found in the original staff areas.

Facilities at Victoria Baths were strictly segregated until 1922, with separate entrances and swimming pools for Males 1st Class, Males 2nd Class and Females. Wash baths housed in cubicles in the pool rooms provided the community with private washing facilities largely absent from working class dwellings. The building also housed a full Turkish Baths suite.

In one hundred years, whilst alterations and modifications have occurred, many have not been highly intrusive. Much of the original construction materials and finishes remain in situ and intact, presenting an invaluable opportunity to conserve a significant example of a type of building unique to the social conditions and political will prevalent at the time of construction. Listed grade II*, Victoria Baths has been extensively compared with other surviving public bath complexes. This comparison suggests that it is probably the most intact and lavish example of its date and type in the country and it is of great importance to the nation’s built heritage.

Victoria Baths is at a cross roads. Having successfully gained the nation’s support through the BBC 2003 Restoration programme a future use for the complex must be identified and – more critically – must be sustainable. The alternative, the gradual destruction of a magnificent building, is unthinkable. The policies in this plan aim to assist in the determination of the future for the Baths. They are a set of guidelines or signposts that should enable effective development of this site whilst retaining the many elements of the structure which are so universally admired.

The implementation of these policies will be guided by the Steering Group which comprises the major stakeholders in the Baths; Manchester City Council, the Victoria Baths Trust, English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Restoration Fund. They face an enormous challenge.