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73-640: Ben Rhydding Hydro , opened as the Wharfedale Hydropathic Establishment and Ben Rhydding Hotel and later rebranded as the Ben Rhydding Golf Hotel was a hotel in Ben Rhydding near Ilkley , West Yorkshire, England, opened in 1844 and demolished in 1955. The hotel was designed around the principles of hydrotherapy or the cold water cure , a Victorian health fad which emerged in the early 1840s and which diminished in popularity by

146-588: A Turkish bath. The baths comprised a cooling-room, two hot rooms, and showers, which latter devices were so unusual they needed to be described by the reporter covering the opening of the baths. This was not only the first Victorian Turkish bath to be built in one of the British colonies, but it opened a few months before the first bath in London, capital of the Empire. The venture was successful, over 4,000 baths being taken during

219-426: A central hotel section. It was sited in a 65 acres (26 ha) landscaped estate designed by Joshua Major . At its opening, the hotel was capable of accommodating 60 patients 'with their friends and attendants'. A formal opening dinner was held on 20 May 1844. Stansfeld linked Ben Rhydding Hydro to Vincenz Priessnitz, inscribing a marble tank containing spring-fed drinking water, housed in an octagonal spa building in

292-717: A converted biscuit factory in Moray Place, Dunedin. Opening in December 1874, it comprised a cooling-room, two hot rooms, a shampooing room and a tepid water swimming pool. Later Turkish baths opened in several locations including Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson, and Wellington. In Canada the chronology is less clear. The first large Victorian Turkish bath opened in 1869 in the French-speaking city of Montreal at McBean's Turkish Bath Hotel in Monique Street, although there may have been

365-457: A cost of £30,000. It was the third major hydropathic establishment in England, "perhaps the most deeply respected and certainly the longest-lived". Ben Rhydding , the name given to the establishment, also given to the railway station built to serve it and by which the village subsequently became known, is allegedly the ancient name of the uplands above Wheatley. In a 1900 history of Upper Wharfedale,

438-549: A county court judge in Halifax, and two others, raised £30,000 to build a Scottish baronial architecture style hotel on high ground south of the River Wharfe , east of Ilkley, laying the foundation stone on 26 September 1843. The hotel building, designed by Messers Sharp of Leeds and York, and built by Messers Russell and Wilkes, was of three-stories and c-shaped, having two residential wings, one each for male and female patients, and

511-403: A dip in a cold plunge pool. It is then followed by a full body wash and massage, together called shampooing. Finally, no less important, is a period of relaxation in the cooling-room, preferably for at least an hour. There is no standard prescribed route through the rooms of a Victorian Turkish bath, though some establishments may recommend one, while some others are physically arranged so that

584-510: A footnote describes the circumstances, citing Collyer's History of Ilkley : Dr. Collyer writes that when Ben Rhydding was building, and the founders were casting about for a name, the matter came up in the "pint-pot parliament", which had sat at the Wheat Sheaf in Ilkley time out of mind. Mr. Hamer Stansfeld (the founder) wanted "a good an ancient name", and was particularly wishful to know what

657-513: A gift of £5,000 from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie to the people of his hometown. Further gifts from Carnegie totalling £45,000 enabled the corporation to replace them by building a larger set of baths in Pilmuir Street which opened on 31 March 1905. These Turkish baths closed in 2008, though some of the rooms are now used for other purposes. Edinburgh citizens had to wait until 1901 for their corporation to build its only Turkish baths, part of

730-595: A living, to give them more time to support his political work, and to have places where they could freely hold political meetings. The opening in Manchester of the first Victorian Turkish bath in England, some time around 12 July 1857, was proudly announced in the Free Press papers. Urquhart had helped finance its building in part of the Broughton Lane home of FAC member William Potter who managed, and later owned it. From

803-510: A luxurious set of what was unashamedly called Roman-Irish baths with appropriate credit being given to Dr Barter. The Frederic Baths, together with others in Munich and Wiesbaden (opened in 1901 and 1913 respectively) are still open, and have also become tourist attractions in their own right. Victorian Turkish baths were provided for the general public by individual entrepreneurs, limited liability companies, and local authorities. Exact percentages of

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876-668: A manuscript book on the attractions and amusements of Llandudno. In 1858, Dr John Le Gay Brereton, father of the Australian poet and critic of the same name, was visiting physician at the FAC Turkish baths in Bradford's Leeds Road, one of the first in England. In 1859 he emigrated to Australia, almost immediately taking a lease on Captain Cook's Hotel in Spring Street, Sydney, and converting it into

949-529: A smaller establishment in Joté Street as early as 1863. The baths were refurbished on several occasions and were still in operation in 1911. Many of the larger cities had at least one Turkish bath during the following decades, with the English-speaking cities, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria each having several. David Urquhart's influence was also felt outside the Empire when in 1861, Charles H Shepard opened

1022-524: A standard route seems to be predetermined, as in the baths built by the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell in Old Kent Road. Some bathers prefer to start in the hottest room and work towards the cooling-room; others never venture into the hottest room and prefer to start with the coolest and work their way into hotter areas. Once acclimatised, bathers usually go back and forth as they wish, but it

1095-467: A towel, nudity in local authority baths is now rare, even in single sex sessions. However, a few local authorities and private members' clubs hire their Turkish baths to local naturist clubs where nude bathing is the rule. Whether costumed or not, bathers normally cover seating with a towel before sitting or lying down. This also helps protect against accidental burns from seats which have been vacant for some time. Two people were primarily responsible for

1168-538: A writer in the Christian World noting in 1881 that 'man in a state of nudity' may be seen 'any day in a Turkish bath'. This was not only the case in commercial Turkish baths but, well into the 20th century, in local authority baths also. Alfred Cross , who designed baths for the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury (Ironmonger Row Baths, 1931) and the Urban District Council of Epsom (1935), had earlier defined

1241-744: Is a football club based at Coutances Way, and compete in the Northern Counties East League . Ben Rhydding Hockey Club is a field hockey club that is based at Countances Way, and competes in the Men's England Hockey League , the Women's England Hockey League , the North Hockey League and the Yorkshire & North East Hockey League . Ben Rhydding Cricket Club is also based at Coutances Way. . Victorian Turkish baths Hot-air baths of

1314-634: Is a type of hot-air bath which originated in Ireland in 1856. It was specifically identified as such in the 1990s and then named and defined to necessarily distinguish it from the baths which had for centuries, especially in Europe, been loosely, and often incorrectly, called "Turkish baths". These were usually Islamic hammams , but during the latter part of the 20th century, steam and vapour baths of various types also came to be included. This general term, "Turkish baths", has also been used to describe women's baths in

1387-421: Is because the typical short shower neither removes sweat from a bathing costume before entering the pool, nor any pool chemicals from a costume on re-entering the hot-rooms afterwards, whereas both sweat and residual chemicals are more effectively removed from an uncovered body. In Britain, for most of the 20th and late 19th centuries, men and women were able to bathe naked in separate baths, or separate sessions,

1460-603: Is considered important always to end with a rest in the cooling-room. Bathers should never remain in a Turkish bath if they feel the slightest bit dizzy or uncomfortable. Since the purpose of the Victorian Turkish bath is to expose the surface of the body—the pores of the skin—to the hot dry air, the European practice of bathing naked is the most effective one, and costumes are prohibited for hygienic reasons. This, as explained in numerous brochures for Turkish baths and saunas,

1533-407: Is free of charge'. Shampooing was not included and cost an additional sixpence. Between 1859 and 1869, Barter, or companies associated with him, built nine other baths in Ireland, while at least forty others are known to have been in existence as standalone establishments at some time during the following hundred years. There are no longer any Turkish baths in Ireland today. Back in England, Urquhart

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1606-615: Is not known which Victorian Turkish bath was the first in Germany, but the first of any size and importance was the Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden, opened soon after the Paris Hammam. Grand Duke Frederic of Baden had originally wanted a spa grand enough to compete with others ensuring that, in their use of the hot waters, the baths 'should surpass those known hitherto, and be in accordance with all

1679-571: Is part of the Ilkley urban area and civil parish . The village is situated on a north-facing valley side beneath the Cow and Calf rocks and above and to the south of the River Wharfe . It was in the historic West Riding of Yorkshire . The village's former name was Wheatley. In the 19th century it was noted for its hydropathic establishment , the Ben Rhydding Hydro , which opened on 29 March 1844 at

1752-672: The Sheffield Free Press , a paper owned for a while by local politician Isaac Ironside, who led the Sheffield FAC. After Ironside had, at Urquhart's suggestion, visited St Ann's for his own health, the paper, and its later London version The Free Press , also acted (from 29 March 1856) as a means of communication about Turkish baths. Letters to both papers on St Ann's and on the progress of its Turkish bath were published, and were of great interest to many FAC members. Urquhart encouraged them to start Turkish baths to provide themselves with

1825-463: The sudatorium (the hottest), the tepidarium , and the frigidarium (cooling-room). Even while experiments were continuing, Barter was promoting the bath throughout Ireland. On 17 March 1859, he opened the first Turkish bath in the country to be built for use by the general public at 8 Grenville Place, in nearby Cork. There were separate baths for men and women at a cost of one shilling. Children under ten paid half price and 'A servant attending

1898-488: The 'well-known and long-established' Victoria Baths at 106 West Nile Street, announced his intention to convert 'a large part of the establishment' into a Turkish bath. By 22 September, the new baths were open with two hot rooms, a cooling-room, a variety of showers and dressing rooms. There was only a single class of baths, with Wednesday mornings set aside for ladies. Hydropathic establishments in Scotland were quick to follow

1971-556: The British Isles. Victorian Turkish baths have been identified in thirty-one of the country's then forty-five states without any known specific search having been made. So there is no reason to suppose that the remaining fourteen states were without them. Of these fourteen, Alaska, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Texas, are known to have had several each after the beginning of the 20th century. The first Victorian Turkish bath in France

2044-591: The Irish-Roman or Anglo-Roman bath. Some bath proprietors felt strongly about this and named their baths accordingly. But the new baths finally became known as Turkish baths because, for many years, that is where western travellers had first come across, and frequently written about, the 'exotic' hot-air baths of earlier times. In a Victorian Turkish bath, bathers relax in a series of increasingly hot dry rooms, usually two or three, until they sweat profusely. This progression can be repeated, interspersed with showers, or

2117-588: The Islamic hammam while serving in the Ottoman Empire in the 1830s. He described the system of relatively dry hot-air baths used in Morocco and Turkey, which had changed little since Roman times, in his travel book The Pillars of Hercules , and became an enthusiastic advocate of the bath for the remainder of his life. Barter had already been using vapour baths at St Ann's, and when, in 1856, he read Urquhart's description of

2190-474: The Otley and Ilkley Joint Committee responsible for the railway, to erect at his expense a stone-built waiting room and office serving his clientele. The hydro now met customers from Ben Rhydding station, transporting them to the hydro by horse-bus. (The railway company assumed ownership of the buildings in 1885.) Although Macleod is widely praised in writings about hydrotherapy, he is serially criticised for permitting

2263-501: The Ottoman harem, most famously by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and as the title—or as the supposed subject—of orientalist paintings . When the first Victorian Turkish baths were being built, there was much discussion about how the bath should be named. Because it was based on the baths of the ancient Romans and not on the Islamic hammam, many argued that it should be called the Roman bath, or

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2336-493: The Turkish bath process, any more than were the services of, for example, the barber, chiropodist, or visiting physician who might be available in some 19th-century establishments. The use of Victorian Turkish baths began to decline after World War I, with the decline accelerating after World War II. In the 21st century, there are very few Victorian Turkish bath buildings extant, and fewer still remain open. The Victorian Turkish bath

2409-442: The Turkish bath, in his then standard work on public baths and wash-houses, as 'the exposure of the nude body to hot dry air, massaging or shampooing, ablution with warm and cold water, and finally drying and cooling'. In London, Bermondsey Council took nudity for granted in a promotional film made for them in the 1930s. Although many British bathers prefer bathing in the Turkish bath without costumes, or just loosely covered with

2482-670: The Urquhartite stronghold of Newcastle, where a bath was installed at the Newcastle upon Tyne Infirmary, and simultaneously down through the Midlands, another area with many FACs, until they reached London, where Roger Evans opened the first in Bell Street, near Marble Arch, in 1860. It is not known for certain when the first Turkish bath opened in Scotland. In Glasgow, two opened within months of each other in 1860. Peter Jack claimed to have opened

2555-468: The Victorian asylum and the Victorian workhouse, in the houses of the wealthy, in private members' clubs, and in ocean liners for those travelling overseas. They were even provided for farm animals and urban workhorses. Some establishments provided additional facilities such as steam rooms and, from the second half of the 20th century, Finnish saunas . These complemented the Turkish bath, but were not part of

2628-502: The age of 56, but advertisements in the contemporary press suggest it may have occurred after his death. Metcalfe names a number of successor physicians at Ben Rhydding – Drs Lucy, Little, Johnstone and Scott – whilst noting that "none of these made a success of the place like Dr. Macleod". The Hydro added a nine-hole golf course by 1909, and after World War I advertised itself as the Ben Rhydding Golf Hotel. The hotel building

2701-524: The beginning, separate sessions for women were supervised by his wife Elizabeth. Around England, Urquhart's FACs, regularly brought up-to-date by the Free Press papers, were responsible for starting at least thirty Turkish baths. Except in Ireland, where Barter was the main influence, the FAC members and their baths soon inspired others to start opening them. In this, as in all work with the FACs, Urquhart's wife Harriet

2774-511: The corporation's Turkish baths were built for a single class of user, unlike those in England and Wales where the Public Baths & Wash-houses Acts mandated two classes, their relative sizes, and their charges. The first Welsh Turkish baths were small, opening in 1861 in Brecon and Tredegar. Again, it is not clear which was the first to open. The earliest newspaper account so far found suggests that

2847-438: The dryness of the heated air. This was the first Victorian Turkish bath, known today in Europe as the Irish-Roman bath in honour of Barter and his architect—also coincidentally named Richard Barter , though they were not related. Barter's first successful bath at St Ann's was formally opened on 11 May 1858, though it had already been in use for some time, while still in the process of being improved. The three main rooms were

2920-569: The early 20th century. Ben Rhydding was the third UK hydrotherapy hotel in the UK, and the first to be custom built; it gave its name to the settlement, Wheatley, in which it was established. The Victorian history of hydrotherapy in the UK is traced back to Richard Tappin Claridge , an asphalt contractor and captain in the Middlesex Militia, who published and lectured in the early 1840s on an approach to

2993-462: The extent that pertained in England, but there were exceptions. Dunfermline Burgh Corporation took over a privately owned baths establishment at West Protection Wall in 1870 and three years later planned major extensions and the addition of Turkish baths. These were open by September 1876. A year later, the corporation opened swimming and Turkish baths in Schoolend Street. These were paid for by

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3066-534: The first Turkish baths in the United States at 63 Columbia Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY, most probably on 3 October 1863. It was not a purpose-built establishment, but Shepard added a four-room Turkish bath to his three-storey hydropathic establishment. This was so successful that he had to enlarge it within ten months. Three years later, a new set of baths was opened next door and the original baths were converted for use by women. When Shepard's bath opened, Brooklyn

3139-647: The first nine months, and plans were already being drawn up for the much larger establishment which opened on 16 March 1861 in Bligh Street. Melbourne's first Turkish bath opened in Lonsdale Street in 1860, and by the end of the 1860s there were baths in all the major Australian cities, including Hobart in Tasmania. New Zealand's first Victorian Turkish bath was set up by the Otago Turkish Bath Company in

3212-519: The first of these was built in part of the home of a former collier, Daniel Jones, who made his bath available to locals suffering from rheumatism and infections of the chest. But a couple of months later there is a long account of a visit to the Turkish bath at an unnamed location in Brecon, staffed by a Mr Davies and owned by a Dr Williams who is described as 'the pioneer in the Principality'. Neither of these baths seems to have survived for long. But

3285-536: The first some time in June and this seems to have been a small one with a single hot room, at 366 Argyll Street. But by the end of December his baths had been 'entirely re-constructed' and had three hot rooms. Although the Public Baths and Wash-houses Acts did not apply in Scotland, Jack's Roman or Turkish Baths provided first and second class baths, as many commercial Turkish baths were to do in England. Both classes also had Ladies' days. In mid-September, Mr P Tracy, lessee of

3358-586: The following year, 1862, saw the opening of a major Turkish bath in Cardiff and within a few years this was followed by baths at Merthyr Tydfil (1866), Llandudno, Neath, and Newport (all in 1864), and others as the century moved on. While some of the smaller Welsh baths may not have remained open for very long, the Llandudno bath during its three-year life managed to inspire Richard Greene, a local artist and writer, to produce an amusing series of sketches which became part of

3431-507: The grounds: In Memory of / VINCENT PRIESSNITZ, / The Silesian Peasant, to whom the world / Is indebted for the blessing of the / System of Cure by Water, / This fountain / Is gratefully erected and inscribed by / Hamer Stansfeld. / Ben Rhydding, May 29, 1844. According to The Bradford Observer the opinion of railway speculators who met at the Hydro in 1844, was that although it was a first-rate facility, it would not pay. A November 1884 meeting of

3504-466: The hammam he was, 'electrified; and resolved, if possible, to add that institution to [his] establishment'. He realised that the human body can tolerate a higher temperature when exposed to dry air than it can when exposed to vapour. Believing that a higher temperature increased the curative effectiveness of the bath, he invited Urquhart to St Ann's, offering him 'land, workmen, and materials', to help him build one for his patients. Their first attempt, in

3577-500: The hydros in mind, Allshorn emphasised in his advertisements that the baths were 'Under Medical Superintendence'. Known as the Edinburgh Roman or Turkish Bath, the cooling-room and three hot rooms were all called by their Roman names. Edinburgh and Glasgow soon had a number of other Turkish baths, in addition to those opening in many other cities and towns in Scotland. Scottish local authorities never became Turkish bath providers to

3650-486: The introduction of alcohol to the Ben Rhydding regime. Hydrotherapy and temperance were seen by contemporary commentators as twins, and Macleod's deviation from this orthodoxy was met with quite severe opprobrium and the loss of some customers, such as Quakers . The success of Ben Rhydding hydro led to the development of a number of other Hydro establishments in Ilkley, notably Wells House , Craiglands and Troutbeck. It

3723-402: The introduction of the Victorian Turkish bath into the 19th century's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Scottish diplomat and sometime MP for Stafford, David Urquhart (1805–1877), and Irish physician and hydropathist (an early hydrotherapist ), Richard Barter (1802–1870), founder and proprietor of St Ann(e)'s Hydropathic Establishment near Blarney, Co. Cork. Urquhart came across

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3796-509: The introduction of this facility by Richard Barter at his St Ann's Hydropathic Establishment in Blarney, County Cork, Ireland. The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway was opened on 1 August 1865, providing train connections between Ilkley and Leeds. A wooden-platform station complete with wooden booking office, waiting room and retiring room for ladies was added at Ben Rhydding, opening on 1 July 1866. In May 1871, William MacLeod reached agreement with

3869-506: The large Portobello public baths building facing the sea. These baths currently remain open. Finally, at the other end of the provision scale, Glasgow Corporation included a small Turkish baths for eight bathers in its Gallowgate Public Baths in 1902. This was followed by larger ones in the Govanhill baths in 1917, and in three other baths—Pollokshaws, Shettleston, and Whiteinch, all in 1926. Although there were two classes of hot water baths, all

3942-490: The late 1850s, and died in 1865. At some time after his appointment, Macleod obtained a lease from the company running Ben Rhydding, giving him sole control over the establishment for fifteen years, at the expiration of which term he purchased the property, becoming proprietor of Ben Rhydding Hydro business. He added three new wings to the main building, as well as making other improvements in the grounds. Macleod introduced Victorian Turkish baths at Ben Rhydding in 1859, following

4015-500: The local and international high society. In this it succeeded, its regular bathers including Léon Gambetta, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the Prince of Wales, the Baron de Rothschild, and many of those famous in the world of the arts. It remained open until 1954 before being converted into offices. Today only the façade remains, with its numerous westernised horseshoe windows, arches, and grilles. It

4088-518: The proprietors of the Hydro board, however, claimed it was a complete success, and voted £10 to the mission of Father Mathew , a teetotalist reformer, and by a subscription of £150 to a Hydropathic Fever Hospital. At its outset, the hotel was run by a Mr. Strachan, from the Midland Hotel in Derby. Its hydrotheraputic operation was led by a Dr. Rischanek, who had trained under Priessnitz at Grafenberg, and

4161-471: The requirements of modern balneo-therapeutics'. Planning started in 1867 but work was delayed by water supply problems and the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). District-Architect Karl Dernfeld and the spa's medical officer Carl Frech took time to visit other baths in Germany and elsewhere to help them develop their plan. When the baths opened on 15 December 1877, the original spa had been complemented by

4234-468: The same type, built after Queen Victoria 's reign (1837–1901), are known as Victorian-style Turkish baths , and are also covered in this article. The Victorian Turkish bath became popular during the latter third of the queen's reign, and retained this popularity during the Edwardian years (1901–1914), first as a therapy and a means of personal cleansing, and then as a place for relaxation and enjoyment. It

4307-471: The shape of a 'little beehive-shaped thatched building' failed due to its inability to heat the air sufficiently. Urquhart returned to his political work in England but Barter persevered. He sent his architect to Rome to study the ancient Roman baths. On his return, based on what he learned in Rome and the plans and details he brought back, he built a bath at St Ann's differing from the traditional Islamic hammam in

4380-492: The supposed curative properties of water developed by Vincenz Priessnitz in Gräfenberg (now Lázně Jeseník ), Austrian Silesia . The basics of the cold water cure was the supposition that bad substances in the blood could be sweated out, by wrapping patients first in wet linen, and then in blankets, so as to open their pores. The curative properties of water predate Victorian hydrotherapy, not least in Ilkley, which had had since

4453-575: The trend, possibly fearing loss of clients to the new standalone baths in the cities. By November 1860, Alex Munro had added a Turkish bath 60-foot (18 m) long to his Lochhead Hydro just outside Aberdeen. And in Edinburgh, Dr James Lawrie advertised the opening, on 15 May 1861, of a Turkish bath to complement the original medicated baths at his Sciennes Hill Hydro. A couple of months later, Edinburgh's first standalone Turkish baths were opened just behind number 90 Princes Street by Dr G E Allshorn. Keeping

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4526-582: The upland was called in the old times on which Ben Rhydding is built. Nancy Wharton, our hostess, said she knew, and gave us the name Ben (not Bean) Rydding [sic]. It had passed out the common memory, but had survived by some good hap in Nancy's mind, and it was from this little seed the name sprang again which has become famous. Ben Rhydding is served by a railway station , public house, two petrol stations, two churches and local shops but relying on nearby Ilkley for shopping and civic facilities. Ilkley Town A.F.C.

4599-410: The very early 18th-century an outdoor spa bath, White Wells , said to be a cure for 'bad eyes', 'tumours and sores', 'scrophula' and 'all cases where the spine is affected'. Ben Rhydding Hydro was established in 1843 by a consortium led by Hamer Stansfeld , a Leeds merchant and then Mayor of Leeds, who had taken a – to his mind successful – water cure in Gräfenberg in that year. Stansfeld, his brother,

4672-715: Was already a second establishment, the Hammam de Lyon . The first Victorian Turkish bath in Paris opened to the public in March 1876 on the junction of the Rue Neuve des Mathurins and the Rue Auber. The majority of its patrons were men, but certain specific times were set aside for women, who entered through a discreet entrance at 47 Boulevard Haussmann, round the corner. Though called the Paris Hammam, Nebahat Avcıoğlu has convincingly argued that not only

4745-437: Was also the impetus for a residential building boom in Ben Rhydding. The Bradford Observer notes that William Macleod "may be said to be the person who developed the practice of hydropathic treatment to its present standing; and he very largely contributed to making Ilkley what it is in this respect." Macleod interests in the hydro were sold to a company; Metcalfe states this occurred before Macleod's death on 29 January 1875 at

4818-632: Was considered an experienced hydropathist. Ben Rhydding dispensed with Rischanek's services in 1847, according to Metcalfe because "he was not adapted to the ways and habits of English people, and so did not get on with them very well. Moreover, he was lacking in the necessary energy for the conduct of so large an establishment". The company engaged in his stead a Dr. William Macleod from the Edinburgh medical establishment. On his appointment, MacLeod spent some time familiarising himself with hydrotherapy at Malvern under James Manby Gully and James Wilson. Hamer Stansfeld appears to have withdrawn from public life in

4891-417: Was it influenced by baths in Britain, but especially by Urquhart's Jermyn Street baths, opened fourteen years earlier. Designed in a lavish style by architects William Klein and Albert Duclos, the baths included a swimming pool, restaurant and a hairdresser. That shampooing was undertaken by two Englishmen trained at the Jermyn Street baths reinforced the idea that the baths were designed to attract members of

4964-422: Was kept in touch with Barter's progress while he was actively involved in campaigning on behalf of Turkey prior to the Crimean War. He had gathered around himself, particularly in the north of England, groups of mainly working class political followers calling themselves Foreign Affairs Committees (FACs), whose main activities were calling meetings and writing to newspapers. Their political views were promulgated in

5037-407: Was not yet part of New York City, so the city's first Turkish bath, opened in 1865 by Drs Eli P Miller and A L Wood, was in Manhattan at 13 Laight Street. Like Urquhart, Shepard was an enthuiastic advocate for the bath, writing several pamphlets, and campaigning for a publicly funded one for the poor. By the end of the 19th century, the bath had spread across the United States just as it had done in

5110-440: Was opened in 1868 by Dr Charles Depraz at Place Grimaldi in Nice. Though known as the Hammam de Nice , Depraz wrote that it followed the pattern of the many perfect baths in England ( 'La distribution de cet établissement a été faite d'après les plans les plus parfaits des nombreux Hammams de l'Angleterre ') The title page of the guide indicates that Depraz was the promoter of a company called Hammams de France , and by 1870 there

5183-452: Was requisitioned by the government at the start of World War II , used as offices for the Wool Control Board. On its release in 1948, it was not reinstated as a hotel, but stood empty. The building was demolished in 1955. 53°55′14″N 1°47′46″W  /  53.920465°N 1.796015°W  / 53.920465; -1.796015 Ben Rhydding Ben Rhydding is a village in the City of Bradford , West Yorkshire , England. It

5256-459: Was totally involved. She agreed that the bath at Riverside, their home near Rickmansworth, should be open to all who wished to try it, whether they were his servants, friends or neighbours, local doctors with their patients, FACs wanting information, or their members who were unwell. She kept many sciatic and invalid guests over for breakfast. 'Some days there were as many as twenty-five people using it.' From Manchester, Turkish baths spread north to

5329-510: Was very soon copied in several parts of the British Empire, in the United States of America, and in some western European countries. Victorian Turkish baths were opened as small commercial businesses, and later by those local authorities that saw them as being permitted under the Baths and Washhouses Act 1846. They were also to be found in hotels, hydropathic establishments (hydros) and hospitals, in

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