Victoria Baths workday on Sunday 18th November

Five of us spent today at the Victoria Baths in Chorlton doing housekeeping jobs with staff members Neil and Martin.  This was our first visit to the Baths in 2012 and a year after our last visit.  The jobs we did were:

- Fitting rubber feet to 100 fold-up chairs

- Scraping whitewash off the floors around the sides of the Second Class Males pool

- Power washing said floors and the ramp at the rear of the building

- Removing builders’ rubble from the heating pipes beneath the Turkish Baths

 

Gala/First Class Males Pool

Over lunch and at the coffee breaks we heard from Neil about recent developments at the Baths. Of note in 2012:

- All three pool halls and the Turkish Baths Rest Room have been granted marriages licences and eight marriages/civil partnerships took place this year plus several more receptions

- £13,000 has been collected to restore the “Aqua” stained-glass window in the Gala Pool and a local stained-glass maker has been commissioned

After we'd finished work Neil took us on a tour of the Turkish Baths.  They have discovered recently how all the plumbing worked to get the hot air and steam from room to room.  Next we visited the Superintendent’s flat at the top of the building and ended by climbing the clock tower. The views from up there across Manchester were fantastic as the light faded.  We had no sooner finished than the bell noisily struck the 4 o’clock chimes!