The support of our Friends makes a vital difference to our work, helping us to preserve this beautiful building for future generations.

Read on to find out more about what our Friends have achieved, our future plans and how you can help.

The history of Victoria Baths

Victoria Baths opened its doors to the public in 1906, providing spacious facilities for swimming, bathing and leisure. No expense was spared, and today you can still see the rich terracotta, decorative stained glass, sumptuous tiles and mosaics as you step inside.

Manchester City Council closed the baths in 1993. Ever since then, the Friends of Victoria Baths and the Victoria Baths Trust have been campaigning to save the building and to re-open the Turkish Baths and at least one of the pools. (See the timeline under "Our Story" on the Restoration tab to see how far we have come since 1993.)

Plans for the future

We have now drawn up plans for the next major phase of restoration for Victoria Baths - to bring the Turkish Baths back to life and re-open them to the public, with a modern health suite for spa treatments, and restore the Superintendent's Flat into rental apartments. Both of these restoration projects will provide Victoria Baths with much-needed regular income throughout the year.

What will my donation achieve?

You can support us by making a regular donation, on either a monthly or an annual basis.

Depending on which type of membership you choose, your donation will either be used to support the day to day operation of Victoria Baths, helping us to keep the Baths open to the general public, or will go directly towards restoration.

Benefits of Friends' Membership

Friendship comes with a range of benefits, including:

• regular newsletters and updates
• free entry to our Open Days and Wednesday tours
• exclusive events
• opportunities to socialise with other Friends, hear about operational activities and share ideas through the Friends' Forum

What type of Membership is right for me?

We offer two different types of membership subscription:

• Friend - an annual donation of £20 (£5 per annum for unwaged Friends)
• Restoration Supporter - a regular donation of at least £5 per month

You can also become a Friend and receive the same range of benefits by volunteering with us. Please see our Volunteering page for more information.

Become a Friend

Friends membership is £20 a year (£5 if you are unwaged). As a Friend you can benefit from:

• regular newsletters and updates
• special events for Friends at the Baths
• opportunities to get involved as a volunteer        
• opportunities to socialise with other Friends, hear about operational activities and share ideas through the Friends' Forum                                 

Your donation will contribute towards the everyday operation of Victoria Baths, helping us to run fundraising events and keep opening to the general public.

Become a Restoration Supporter

If you contribute at least £5 a month by Standing Order you will be enrolled as one of our Restoration Supporters. As a Restoration Supporter you will receive all the same benefits as Friends of Victoria Baths, in addition to:

• Restoration Newsletters bringing updates on restoration,
• Invitations to special events, including an annual visit to Victoria Baths to see the progress of the restoration,
• Acknowledgement on our thank you page on the website (unless you prefer your support to be anonymous).

Funds donated by Restoration Supporters go directly into the Trust's Building Fund. So far, Restoration Supporters have donated over £50,000 to this fund. This has supported much needed restoration work, including:

• the restoration of the windows in the Turkish Rest Room including the Angel of Purity window
• refurbishment of the orginal poolside toilets in the Males 1st Class and Gala pool to create visitor toilets
• reinstatement of basement windows that had been bricked up
• restoration of the AQUA and ZEPHYR stained glass windows in the Gala pool

How to join

It is easy to sign up as a Friend or Restoration Supporter - just complete, sign and return the application form in the Downloads section below.