Victorian Turkish Baths

Victorian Turkish Baths is the first book to bring to light the hiddenhistory of a fascinating institution-the 600-plus dry hot-air baths descendedfrom the ancient Roman thermae-which opened between 1856 and 1975. Theystarted in Ireland, almost immediately spreading around Britain and thecountries of the 19th century British Empire. Soon they were copied inEurope-where they are known as Irish-Roman baths-and crossed the AtlanticOcean, where they could be found in almost all of the United States of America.

Malcolm Shifrin traces the bath’s Irish-Roman antecedents, looking at how its origins were influenced by the combination of physician Richard Barter’s hydropathic expertise, and idiosyncratic diplomat David Urquhart’s passion for the hammams of the Middle East.

The book reveals how working-class members of a network of political pressure groups built more than 30 of the first Turkish baths in England. It explores the architecture, technology and sociology of the Victorian Turkish bath, examining everything from business and advertising to sex-real and imagined. This book offers a wealth of wondrous detail – from the baths used to treat sick horses to those for first-class passengers on the Titanic.

Victorian Turkish Baths will appeal to those interested in Victorian social history, architecture, social attitudes to leisure, early public health campaigns, pressure groups, gendered spaces and much else besides. The book is complemented by the author’s widely respected website victorianturkishbath.org, where readers can find a treasure trove of further information.

Malcolm Shifrin is a former librarian and has written extensively on the fascinating history and sociology of the bath, producing magazine articles and academic papers as well as delivering lectures and talks