It is quite a juxtaposition to walk through the City of London, with its glass office blocks, concrete buildings and shops, to then find yourself facing at a Turkish style Victorian Bath House.
These were once very common, in the late 1800s, but, as far as I can find, this is the last of its kind, in London.
So why is it here and when and why was it built?
During the early to mid 1800s London's population tripled to over 3 million residents, bringing with it many problems, including housing issues, which led to health and hygiene problems.
To try and solve this the Baths and Washhouses Act of 1846 was introduced, which encouraged local authorities to provide adequate public washing and bathing facilities.
While many washhouses were large buildings that could be used by many people, the more affluent residents wanted something more to their taste.
Enter David Urquhart. As a diplomat Mr Urquhart had visited Moorish Spain, Greece and Turkey and suggested the use of 'Turkish Baths', a phrase that he coined, in 1850. He claimed that these baths could cure alcoholism, baldness, cholera, constipation and dementia, all of which was unfounded.
Urquhart oversaw the building of many of these Turkish Baths and, in 1860, Roger Evans, a colleague of Urquhart's, opened the first of these Turkish Baths at 5 Bell Street, near Marble Arch.
