Tiled floor corner
When it opened in 1906, Victoria Baths on Hathersage Road, Manchester, was described as the most splendid municipal bathing institution in the country and a water palace of which every citizen of Manchester can be proud. Not only did the building provide spacious and extensive facilities for swimming, bathing and leisure, it was built of the highest quality materials with many period decorative features:- stained glass, terracotta, tiles and mosaic floors.
Victoria Baths served the people of central Manchester for 87 years and established themselves in the affections of all those who used the facilities.
The Baths were closed by Manchester City Council in 1993. The Friends of Victoria Baths was formed and began to investigate the possibility of running the Victoria Baths independently.
Various fund-raising attempts failed to bring about a restoration of the Baths, although work to prevent the further dereliction of the building started in 1998.
In September 2003, the Baths won the first series of the BBC's Restoration programme. The building was chosen by a public phone-vote from a short-list of ten buildings in danger of dereliction in the UK. It was awarded £3.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the money raised through the phone-voting process. The Prince of Wales visited the baths a month later to help celebrate the win.
It was intended that the money would be spent on re-opening the Turkish bath by around 2006, with other parts following later at a cost of around £15 - 20m. However, the redevelopment plans were dealt a blow one year later when quantity surveyors delivered a much larger estimate of £6.3m to restore the Turkish baths. The Heritage Lottery Fund requested further details about the full redevelopment before they would hand over any money for the first phase. Final planning approval to begin a restoration process was not received until September 2005.
In September 2006, as part of a number of events to mark the centenary of the building's opening, the gala pool was filled for the first time in 13 years.
The first phase of restoration work consisting of structural work and repairs began on Monday 19 March 2007 and was completed in September 2008.
In 2011 the Baths were used as a filming location, a concert venue and an exhibition centre.
The interior has been seen in film and TV dramas such as Cracker, Prime Suspect, Bedlam, Life On Mars and Mrs Biggs.
On 7th November 2012, the Marketing team from The Co-operative Insurance spent their community challenge day at Victoria Baths, scrubbing, cleaning, mopping, vaccing and carrying to help the volunteers of the restoration of this fantastic building. This is the photo diary of that day.
Tiled floor corner
When it opened in 1906, Victoria Baths on Hathersage Road, Manchester, was described as the most splendid municipal bathing institution in the country and a water palace of which every citizen of Manchester can be proud. Not only did the building provide spacious and extensive facilities for swimming, bathing and leisure, it was built of the highest quality materials with many period decorative features:- stained glass, terracotta, tiles and mosaic floors.
Victoria Baths served the people of central Manchester for 87 years and established themselves in the affections of all those who used the facilities.
The Baths were closed by Manchester City Council in 1993. The Friends of Victoria Baths was formed and began to investigate the possibility of running the Victoria Baths independently.
Various fund-raising attempts failed to bring about a restoration of the Baths, although work to prevent the further dereliction of the building started in 1998.
In September 2003, the Baths won the first series of the BBC's Restoration programme. The building was chosen by a public phone-vote from a short-list of ten buildings in danger of dereliction in the UK. It was awarded £3.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the money raised through the phone-voting process. The Prince of Wales visited the baths a month later to help celebrate the win.
It was intended that the money would be spent on re-opening the Turkish bath by around 2006, with other parts following later at a cost of around £15 - 20m. However, the redevelopment plans were dealt a blow one year later when quantity surveyors delivered a much larger estimate of £6.3m to restore the Turkish baths. The Heritage Lottery Fund requested further details about the full redevelopment before they would hand over any money for the first phase. Final planning approval to begin a restoration process was not received until September 2005.
In September 2006, as part of a number of events to mark the centenary of the building's opening, the gala pool was filled for the first time in 13 years.
The first phase of restoration work consisting of structural work and repairs began on Monday 19 March 2007 and was completed in September 2008.
In 2011 the Baths were used as a filming location, a concert venue and an exhibition centre.
The interior has been seen in film and TV dramas such as Cracker, Prime Suspect, Bedlam, Life On Mars and Mrs Biggs.
On 7th November 2012, the Marketing team from The Co-operative Insurance spent their community challenge day at Victoria Baths, scrubbing, cleaning, mopping, vaccing and carrying to help the volunteers of the restoration of this fantastic building. This is the photo diary of that day.