Newcastle City Baths Explained

Newcastle City Baths
Address:Northumberland Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
England
Postcode:NE1 8SF
Coordinates:54.9773°N -1.6107°W
Opened:1927
Operator:Fusion
Architect:Nicholas & Dixon-Spain
Facilities:Gym, swimming pool
Status:
Embed:yes
Designation1:Grade II Listed Building
Designation1 Offname:Northumberland Baths / City Hall
Designation1 Date:8 May 1992
Designation1 Number:1242013

The Newcastle City Baths is a swimming and sports facility located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is a Grade II listed building, with a Victorian-style Turkish baths.

History

The building was designed by Nicholas & Dixon-Spain and opened in 1927 as a part of a development which also included the adjacent Newcastle City Hall.[1] The city baths formed the west side of the complex and, like the city hall, the design involved a tall portico with central Doric order columns between flanking antae with five square windows above.

In November 2012, Newcastle City Council announced that, as part of a wider cost-cutting process, the future of the City Hall and the adjacent City Baths was under review, with a number of options being considered including closure or handing over the venue to an external operator.[2]

In April 2016 it was announced that the Fusion Lifestyle, a leisure charity, had taken over management of the venue[3] and work commenced on a restoration programme at a cost of £7.5 million, which involved converting the main swimming pool into a gym area while a second, smaller pool, was retained for swimming.[4] The gym and swimming pool re-opened to the public in January 2020.[5] [6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City Hall . . 2009-12-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100306214044/http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/cityhallnh . 6 March 2010 . dmy-all .
  2. Web site: Fears over cultural landmark Newcastle City Hall. Kerry. Wood. 30 November 2012. nechronicle.
  3. Web site: New operators take over Newcastle City Hall, Pool and Turkish Baths. Simon. Meechan. 1 April 2016. nechronicle.
  4. Web site: See inside Newcastle City Pool and Turkish Baths as work on its £7.5m restoration continues. 20 January 2019. Chronicle Live.
  5. Web site: Relaunch of Newcastle's City Baths begins 'year of hope' for historic pools. 5 January 2020. The Guardian.
  6. Web site: When will Newcastle City Baths reopen? Here are the dates for its pool and gym. 30 July 2020. Chronicle Live.