Harrogate spa

BATHED IN HISTORY Restored to their former Victorian glory, Harrogate's Turkish Baths are enjoying a new lease of life. Sasha Lill reportsAfter the discovery of mineral water in 1571, Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, evolved as a spa town, ranking among the finest in the world. It was a popular venue for rich Victorians who visited to “take the waters”. The handsome town, with its dignified Victorian buildings, still houses The Royal Pump Room (now a museum of Harrogate’s history), which was built in 1842 to enclose the old sulphur well, as well as the splendidly restored Turkish Baths within the Royal Baths Assembly Rooms. Built in 1897 to house myriad water-based treatments, the Turkish Baths (or hammams) have been returned to their Victorian splendour with a £1m refurbishment paid for by Harrogate Borough Council, Scottish Life and the Heritage Lottery fund. The restoration work was undertaken through a conservation plan produced by architect Peter Gaze Pace, a specialist in historic buildings, to ensure everything – from the glazed bricks to the paint colours – matched the original. Essentially, the Baths were intact and very little alteration has taken place over the years. The nature of the materials used – hard, bright-coloured glazed bricks, mosaic floors and polished hardwoods – mean the interior was always intended to look new, fresh and bright. The Baths’ Moorish (Islamic-based) design, with their arches and screens, walls of vibrant, glazed brickwork (which help retain the heat), arabesque-painted ceilings (an elaborate pattern of repeating geometric forms), and terrazzo floors all add to the historic qualities. Visitors to the Baths change into swimwear for the two-and-half-hour experience (two hours’ heat and a half-hour cool down) in the original Victorian wooden cubicles; there are 12 downstairs and eight upstairs, which also house a (Grade 1-listed) ‘Crapper’ toilet (the first flush toilet). After showering, guests relax in the eucalyptus-scented steam room, where the high humidity opens pores, penetrates the respiratory system, and eases tense muscles, before they take a bracing dip in the plunge pool. There are three inter-connecting hot-room chambers separated by heavy curtains – tepidarium (warm at 45ºC), calidarium (hot at 55ºC), and laconium (hottest at 70ºC). These are visited in turn to gradually build-up the heat experience, allowing the warmth to continue its therapeutic effect on the body. Heat comes from a boiler in the basement and is blown through apertures into each room. The beautifully painted frigidarium, with its stunning, mosaic floor, is the coolest room at 30ºC, and is where guests go to chill-out on one of the 15 beds to round-off their experience. Linked to the Turkish Baths by a covered atrium is a modern spa facility, headed up by spa manager Carol Sherwood and her team of 20 beauty and holistic therapists. Part of the restoration project, the spa has 10 treatment rooms (four with showers), including a flotation room, where treatments from Germaine de Capuccini, Comfort Zone and Fake Bake are administered, along with Jessica nailcare for manicure and pedicure. As well as standard treatments such as waxing, there is a selection of complementary therapies on the treatment menu, including reflexology, reiki, Indian head massage and hot stone therapy. Clients are encouraged to relax in the Fountain rest room, which also has a Jacuzzi. Head of sports and leisure at Harrogate Council Andy McCormick, who has overseen the restoration project, said: “With the introduction of the national health service, spas in England struggled to remain commercially viable in the 1950s, and, in Harrogate’s case, we reinvented ourselves as a conference and exhibition venue – but we have never forgotten our roots. “Although the Royal Baths building is operated via a developer partnership with Scottish Life, the council still maintains control of the Turkish Baths. With the renewed interest in spa facilities, they are going to be just as successful in the 21st century as they were in the 19th.” HISTORY The Royal Baths opened in 1897 and were said to be the most advanced centre for hydrotherapy in the world. The Turkish Baths, within the Royal Baths, was just one of a vast number of facilities available during the Royal Baths’ heydays, including medicinal waters’ dispensary; hydrotherapy departments; mud baths; and steam rooms, as well as the full complement of consulting doctors. What may seem a bizarre range of treatments today, such as plombiere douche (Harrogate hot water and galvanism), were then household names. Twenty men or women were allowed in at any one time, along with 20 attendants. Mixed sessions were only introduced in the last 15 years – with a Turkish bath costing three shillings (about 15p), and a massage two shillings. FASCINATING FACTS - The Turkish Baths are good for those with asthma, aches and pains, as a stress-buster and for sports injuries. - A thousand towels are used each day. - A maximum of 60 people are allowed into the Baths at any one time, with three attendants on duty. - No under-16s are allowed, but there is no upper age limit. - An off-peak session is £11; other session times, £13.60; and peak sessions (Saturday and Sunday), £16.50.