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Gala balcony repairs

photo Martin Connor


"Every year we are a step closer to the full restoration of Victoria Baths"

Gill Wright, Project Development Manager, Victoria Baths Trust

Restoration

 

Victoria Baths Today

Victoria Baths has been partially restored, thanks to £5m in total which has been raised from a number of sources, by far the biggest being a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as a result of us winning the BBC's Restoration programme in 2003.

The building operates as a heritage visitor attraction and events venue with approaching 40,000 visitors each year. But this is just the start of our restoration journey. Our vision is to fully restore the building, bringing public leisure facilties back into use.Our long-term aim is to have public swimming at Victoria Baths. Today we can just do this on one-off occasions.

Our Vision for Victoria Baths

Our vision is to establish Victoria Baths as a vibrant international heritage visitor attraction which celebrates the nation’s swimming history in an inspirational setting for events and contemporary arts; promoting health and well-being by restoring the well-loved architectural gem so the public may again experience the Turkish Baths and swim in an historic pool.

Our values:

  • We will re-establish facilities to enhance fitness, health and general well-being 
  • We will preserve the original fabric of the building enhanced with the best of modern technology
  • We will strive for the highest quality of service and public satisfaction
  • We aim for financial sustainability and will explore not-for-profit, co-operative models of operation
  • We will ensure that Victoria Baths continues to benefit local and wider communities
  • We will work with partners, Friends, volunteers and staff to realise this vision

See Our Story for the major work we have completed since 2002.

Our Strategy is to restore Victoria Baths in phases. 

Images here show more recent work, restoring our stained glass windows.

 

 

 
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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can I swim at Victoria Baths?

    It is not possible to swim at Victoria Baths now, but it is the aim of the Trust to fully restore the building and bring at least one swimming pool back into public use.

  • When will the baths re-open as a functional public pool?

    We can't yet be sure of the timescale for re-opening the pool. It is a huge challenge, not simply because of the large amount of capital required to restore the pool to working order but also because an operating pool will almost certainly require ongoing public subsidy.

  • Where is Victoria Baths?

    Victoria Baths is on Hathersage Road which is a couple of miles south of Mancheser City Centre in an area called Chorlton-on-Medlock. It is in the ward of Ardwick but also close to Longsight and to Rusholme, famous for its Curry Mile. Manchester Royal Infirmary is nearby and the Universities quite close too.

  • Can I hire Victoria Baths for an event?

    Yes, it is quite possible to hire Victoria Baths. Check out our Venue Hire pages for more information

  • When did the baths close?

    Victoria Baths closed on 13th March 1993. It was boarded up and little was done to the building for a number of years though the Friends ensured the building wasn't totally neglected or forgotten. Every year there was at least one open day and the Friends carried out lots of clearing and cleaning work long before actual restoration work was carried out.

  • When is Victoria Baths open?

    Public events at Victoria Baths take place from April to October each year with the last Open Day being the first Sunday in November. The building is unheated so it is not practical to hold public events in the colder months though we still faciltiate some private hires then.

  • How has the restoration been funded?

    There has been over £5m spent on the restoration of Victoria Baths so far. The largest amount - £3m - has come from Heritage Lottery Fund as a result of the Restoration win in 2003. English Heritage have also provided several large grants including the first capital grant for work to the building in 2002. Many other grant giving bodies have made contributions and the public have raised over half a million pounds towards the restoration work too - through the viewer vote on Restoration and by contributions to the Trust's Building Fund.

  • Who owns Victoria Baths

    Victoria Baths is owned by Manchester City Council. It is managed on their behalf by the Victoria Baths Trust.

  • Has Victoria Baths been used for TV filming?

    Yes - Victoria Baths has been used many times for filming TV dramas. Scenes for Cracker and Prime Suspect 5 were filmed here in the 1990's and recent programmes have included Life on Mars, the Antiques Road Show, Floggit, Bedlam, Eric and Ernie and many more....
 

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