Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other criteria.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas and medspas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
A frigidarium is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or thermae, namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool.
The Public Library and Baths on Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, form one of many pairings of baths and libraries in Birmingham, England.
The Birmingham Baths Committee was an organisation responsible for the provision and maintenance of public swimming and bathing facilities. Birmingham City Council funded, constructed and ran bathing facilities throughout the city. The movement to develop baths and wash houses in Britain had its impetus with the rapid urbanisation of the Industrial Revolution, which was felt acutely in Birmingham, one of England's powerhouses.
The Baths of Agrippa was a structure of ancient Rome, Italy, built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was the first of the great thermae constructed in the city, and also the first public bath.
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities and was practised across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity. While the extremely wealthy could afford bathing facilities in their homes, private baths were very uncommon, and most people bathed in the communal baths (thermae). In some ways, these resembled modern-day destination spas as there were facilities for a variety of activities from exercising to sunbathing to swimming and massage.
John Henry Price was the first person to hold the office of 'City Architect' in Manchester Corporation's newly created City Architect's Department of 1902. He was responsible for a number of well known Manchester landmarks, and is credited with influencing the design of other buildings constructed during his tenure, such as Manchester Fire Station.
The Thames Lido, formerly known as the King's Meadow swimming pool, is an open-air swimming pool or lido located in King's Meadow in Reading, Berkshire. It was first opened to the public in 1903 as the Ladies Swimming Bath and is believed to be the oldest surviving outdoor municipal pool of a similar early Edwardian era. In August 2004, as a result of a campaign, the building was awarded Grade II listed building status. It re-opened in 2017 after three years of restoration.
Cleveland Pools located in Hampton Row, Bath, Somerset, England is a semi-circular lido built to designs by John Pinch the Elder in 1815. It is believed to be the oldest public outdoor swimming pool in the UK. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Oasis Sports Centre is a leisure centre in Holborn, London, operated by Better on behalf of the London Borough of Camden.
Dulwich Public Baths is a swimming pool and gym in Dulwich, South London. It opened in 1892, and is London's oldest public baths to have remained in continuous operation. The baths are listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England.
Haggerston Baths is a former public bath in Haggerston, London. It was opened in 1904 and were built at a cost of £60,000. There was a single pool, 91 slipper baths and a 60 stall wash house.
The Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre is a public swimming pool complex located on the corner of High Street and Edgar Street, Glen Iris, Melbourne, Australia. Built in the 1960s by Australian architects Kevin Borland and Daryl Jackson, the Swimming Centre is considered to be a fine example of Brutalist architecture. Originally built in 1927 as a municipal swimming baths, the facilities were renovated in 1967 by Borland and Jackson to accommodate for higher swimming participation numbers. It is named in honour of Prime Minister Harold Holt, the local member of parliament until his apparent drowning death while the facility was under construction.
Spring Hill Baths is a heritage-listed swimming pool at 14 Torrington Street, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Thomas Kirk and built from 1886 to 1913 by William M Park. It is also known as Arthur Street City Baths and Municipal Baths at Spring Hill. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Loretto Baths, in short Lollo, is the oldest open-air swimming pool in Germany. It is located at the foot of the Lorettoberg in Wiehre in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. When it opened in 1841, it was the city's first public swimming baths. Its uniqueness lies in the partial separation of sexes. There is one pool which can be used by women only, but also one for the whole family. To this day, it is the only pool in Germany that has a separate pool for women.
Spanien Public Baths, colloquially known simply as Spanien, is a public bath house and a listed building in Aarhus, Denmark. The bath house was completed in 1931 and was listed on the Danish national registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 15 February 1989 as a fine example of the Nordic funkis style. The building was thoroughly renovated in 2010–12.
The Ripon Spa Baths are a grade II listed building in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. It was built between 1904–05 as a spa but failed to compete with the larger facilities at nearby Harrogate. In 1936 a new pool was constructed to the rear and the facility converted to a swimming baths. The building is noted for its ornate terracotta-clad frontage and received listed building protection in 1980. Harrogate Borough Council proposed selling the building for housing development in 2008 on the grounds that it required significant structural repair. The sale was cancelled but in 2021 the council made a new proposal to sell the structure.
The Stabian Baths are an ancient Roman bathing complex in Pompeii, Italy, the oldest and the largest of the 5 public baths in the city. Their original construction dates back to ca. 125 BC, making them one of the oldest bathing complexes known from the ancient world. They were remodelled and enlarged many times up to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
The Carlisle Turkish baths were an Edwardian public baths in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. They adjoined the city's 1884 swimming pool and were constructed in 1908-1909. The baths offered saunas, plunge pools and shower and were advertised as providing health benefits to patrons. These typical Victorian-style Turkish baths remained in use until November 2022 and retain their original tiling and faience work, which is of unusually good quality. A local campaign is seeking to reopen the baths.
