Bringing Manchester's Victoria Baths back to life

Manchester’s Victoria Baths opened in 1906, and represented Manchester City Council’s vision for the highest quality of public facilities aimed at promoting health and wellbeing. The building is full of Edwardian stained glass, decorative tiling and mosaic floors, and the building is Grade II*-listed due to these architectural features.

Although closed as a public baths in 1993, the dedication of local residents preserved the Victoria Baths, together with the support of the public.

The local residents successfully set up Victoria Baths Trust as a registered charity, and the trust manages the baths on behalf of Manchester City Council. Their vision is to fully restore the building, bringing the swimming pools and Turkish Baths suite back into public use. In May 2017, one swimming pool was opened to the public for the first time in 24 years.

The project carried out major works, including:

• Repairing and re-pointing of terracotta and brickwork
• Replacing every window frame on the front of the building as well as re-leading all of the stained-glass windows
• Renovation of a number of key internal architectural features – the mosaic floor in the Males 1st class entrance hall, a glass block corridor floor and lay lights in the Turkish Baths suite