The Turkish Bath in The Heart Of Newcastle City

The Turkish baths of Newcastle are set to re-open in January, following tireless campaigning by locals. 

The baths were closed in 2013 by Newcastle City Council, in a bid to cut mounting costs. As part of these cuts, other public facilities were also closed, including museums and libraries. However, the closure of the baths caused the most sadness, with many mourning the loss of their local oasis, profound with rich history. 

“It was so sad. It felt that Newcastle had a slash-and-burn policy to make a political point,” said Cait Read, one of the locals who took part in the Save Newcastle Turkish Baths campaign.

Thankfully, the local campaigning gained enough traction and resulted in a £7.5 million restoration of the baths, as well as a revamped swimming pool and a newly installed fitness studio. The restoration was completed by Fusion, a leisure charity, which is also well known for the restoration of Brockwell Lido in South London and Brighton’s Saltdean Lido. 

Fusion has made is very clear that they will make the baths affordable for all, so that they become a place for everyone to enjoy. This decision has a lot of historical value, as the baths were previously a place that would bring people together from all walks of life. By ensuring fair pricing, Fusion hopes this will also be true for the future.

Not only will the re-opening of the baths help to bring the community together, there is also hope for them to increase tourism to the area. This is likely to occur, as they will be one of only eleven historic Turkish baths operating in the United Kingdom.

The re-opening of Newcastle’s baths also provides hope for “historic pools around the country” said Gill Wright, founder of Historic Pools of Britain.

“There is a sense of positivity and possibility that is truly inspiring. However, what will unfold wouldn’t be possible without the years of effort and campaigning that has preceded this, which has been very much community-led” 

“Without the tireless efforts of individual volunteers, these are pools that would have disappeared forever – pools that not only are important to the communities they serve, but stand as wonderful examples of public architecture at its very best and representations of vital social history.”

Not only does it bring hope, but it is also inspiring action. There are applications being sent, and funding allocated, for baths and lidos across the United Kingdom. This includes Govanhill baths in Glasgow, Bromhill outdoor pool in Ipswich, Cleveland pools in Bath, Grand lido in Grange-over-Sands and Victoria Baths in Manchester.