Bathing is the immersion of the body, wholly or partially, in a medium, usually a liquid or heated air. It may be for personal hygiene, religious ritual, or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term encompasses a broad range of approaches and therapeutic methods that take advantage of the physical properties of water, such as temperature and pressure, to stimulate blood circulation, and treat the symptoms of certain diseases.
Sir William James Erasmus Wilson FRCS FRS, generally known as Sir Erasmus Wilson, was an English surgeon and dermatologist.
Richard Barter was an Irish physician and proponent of hydropathy. He collaborated with David Urquhart on the introduction of Victorian Turkish baths into the United Kingdom. Barter founded St Ann(e)'s Hydropathic Establishment at St Ann's Hill, located near Cork, in 1844.
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.
Vincenz Priessnitz, also written Prießnitz was a peasant farmer in Gräfenberg, Austrian Silesia, who is generally considered the founder of hydrotherapy, an alternative medical treatment. Priessnitz stressed remedies such as vegetarian food, air, exercise, rest, water, and traditional medicine. He is thus also credited with laying the foundations of what became known as Nature Cure, although it has been noted that his main focus was on hydrotherapeutic techniques. The use of cold water as a curative is recorded in the works of Hippocrates and Galen, and techniques such as spas, bathing, and drinking were used by various physicians in Europe and the US through to the 18th century. The practice was becoming less prevalent entering the 19th century however, until Priessnitz revived the technique after having major success applying it on patients in his spa in Gräfenberg. Priessnitz's name first became widely known in the English-speaking world through the publications and lecture tours of Captain R. T. Claridge in 1842 and 1843, after he had stayed at Grafenberg in 1841. However, Priessnitz was already a household name on the European continent, where Richard Metcalfe, in his 1898 biography, stated: "there are hundreds of establishments where the water-cure is carried out on the principles laid down by Priessnitz". Indeed, Priessnitz's fame became so widespread that his death was reported as far away as New Zealand.
The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, is part of the Classic Lodges group.
Smedley Hydro is a former Victorian hydropathic spa and hotel in Birkdale, Southport, Merseyside, England. The building has been used as a college, hydropathic spa, and hotel and is currently the home of the General Register Office for England and Wales.
Peebles Hydro is an early 20th century hotel and spa resort in Peebles, in the historic county of Peebles-shire in the Scottish Borders. It is one of two hydropathic hotels left in Scotland, the other being Crieff Hydro in Perthshire.
Crieff Hydro is a hotel in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland. The purpose-built hotel opened in 1868 as the Crieff Hydropathic Establishment, and is locally known as the Hydro. It was founded in 1868 by Dr Thomas Henry Meikle, who had received treatment at a centre in Gräfenberg, Austria, where Vincenz Priessnitz had built such an establishment. Preissnitz based his pharmacopeia on water, exercise, fresh mountain air, water treatments in the brooks and simple country food.
The Royal Pump Room is a Grade II* listed building in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Today it houses the town's museum – operated by North Yorkshire Council. It was formerly a spa water pump house. It is located in Crown Place in the western part of Harrogate town centre, opposite the town's Valley Gardens park. It is bounded by two streets, Crescent Road and Royal Parade. Today, the Pump Room consists of both the original 1842 stone rotunda and a glazed annexe which was opened in 1913. The Pump Room offered guests of the town an all weather facility where they could drink sulphur water which was pumped on site from a natural spring known as the Old Sulphur Well. The building also had a social element to it as it provided guests with a place to meet friends and get to know others.
The County Hall is a municipal building in Matlock, Derbyshire, England. The building, which was originally a hydropathic establishment but is now the headquarters of Derbyshire County Council, is a Grade II listed building.
The Buxton Baths using natural thermal spring water are in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The baths date back to Roman times and were the basis for developing Buxton as a Georgian and Victorian spa town. The present buildings of the Thermal Baths and the Natural Mineral Baths were opened in the 1850s. They are positioned either side of the Buxton Crescent at the foot of The Slopes in the town's Central Conservation Area. They are both Grade II listed buildings designed by Henry Currey, architect for the 7th Duke of Devonshire.
Wells House is a large former hydropathic establishment and hotel in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, now used as private apartments. It was built in 1854–56 to a design by the architect Cuthbert Brodrick and is a Grade II listed building. It is located above the town on Wells Road at the edge of Ilkley Moor, giving it an unobstructed view across Wharfedale from its north front. It was originally set in grounds by the landscaper Joshua Major though these gardens have mostly been built on since.
The Victorian Turkish bath is a type of bath in which the bather sweats freely in hot dry air, is then washed, often massaged, and has a cold wash or shower. It can also mean, especially when used in the plural, an establishment where such a bath is available.
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.
Richard Barter was an Irish sculptor and architect.
Archibald Hunter was a Scottish hydrotherapist, naturopath and writer.
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.
Ben Rhydding Hydro, opened as the Wharfedale Hydropathic Establishment and Ben Rhydding Hotel and later rebranded as the Ben Rhydding Golf Hotel was a hotel in Ben Rhydding near Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, opened in 1844 and demolished in 1955.
