Carlisle Turkish baths named in top 10 endangered buildings list

The Turkish Baths were closed by the former Carlisle City Council last autumn and the site has sat empty ever since.

The Turkish Baths were, until November 2022, one of only 12 such baths in the country still in operation and the only one in the North West. 

Conceived at the end of the Victorian era and built in the early Edwardian period, the interior of the Turkish Baths is decorated in a striking oriental style using coloured tiling and glazed faience by Minton Hollins of Stoke, with terrazzo flooring and marble bench tops.

The chair of Friends of Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths said it was ‘fantastic’ that the Turkish Baths had made the list.

“We’re delighted that the baths have been included on the top 10 list,” said Julie Minns.

“The list is really helpful in highlighting what a special building the city has as well as the risks that it faces.

“It all helps in our discussions with Cumberland Council about our aspiration to do a community asset transfer which remains our top priority.

“If we can come to an agreement on a community asset transfer, then we'll then be able to start applying for further grants to do the next stage of our viability study.

“Once the demolition work of the Staples Building and the 1924 pool is completed, which hopefully will be later this year, we hope to be allowed access to the building again so that we could resume historical tours and potentially organize events in there, be they musical events or readings.

“All of this would help keep the building in the public eye, introduce more people to it and that's why the inclusion on the top 10 list is particularly important because it is about keeping this building in the public eye and more and more people recognizing what an absolute gem Carlisle has.”

Julie also said that the Friends would look to add additional features adjacent to the baths including further treatment rooms and a café but that these projects were at least two years down the line.

Griff Rhys Jones (Image: Newsquest)

Not the Nine O’Clock News star and the President of the Victorian Society, Griff Rhys Jones, said: “Come on Carlisle, we will surely never see the likes of these fantastical interiors again.

“I salute the Friends of these wonderful public baths. They have great plans to keep these amazing facilities open.

“They have been working hard with the newly formed Cumberland Council and we all really want them to succeed in keeping these highly decorative, relaxing, historic, and much loved baths in use.

“What incredible survivors. Public attractions of the future."