THE

TURKISH BATH:

ITS

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION;

WITH

CHAPTERS ON THE ADAPTATION OF THE BATH TO
THE PRIVATE HOUSE, THE INSTITUTION,
AND THE TRAINING STABLE.

BY

ROBERT OWEN ALLSOP,

ARCHITECT.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLANS AND SECTIONS

From Scale Drawings by the Author.

E. & F. N. SPON, 125, STRAND, LONDON.
NEW YORK: 12, CORTLANDT STREET.
1890

PREFACE.

CONTENTS.

THE TURKISH BATH.

CHAPTER I.

I cannot but think that one of the chief obstacles to the progress of the bath in this country, is that little or nothing has been written or said about its proper design, construction, and working, and that no full inquiry has been made into the best possible method of supplying heat to the bathers. As a consequence, we have had, and still have, placed before the public, and meeting with undeserved success, "Turkish baths" which are such only in name—unhealthy, ill-ventilated cellars, where the air, deteriorated at the outset by the heating apparatus, stagnates in the sudatory chambers, and becomes loaded with the exhalations and emanations of the bathers, and not unfrequently charged with a nauseating and disgusting odour. What wonder that we so often hear persons remark that they have tried the bath, but neither enjoyed it nor did it agree with them! The damaging effect of "baths" of this type on the prospects of the true bath is incalculable.

In the absence of enlightenment, however, thousands, convinced of the value and benefit of the bathing, periodically attend these miserable substitutes for properly-planned, hygienically-heated, and effectively-ventilated Turkish baths. Viewing any self-evident shortcomings as irremediable evils, ignorant of the true principles of bath construction, and knowing little or nothing of the physiological action of the bath, they have neither the means of ascertaining, nor the power to detect, the genuine article from the harmful substitute. With the public the best bath will be the most elaborate and most flashily decorated, and the moth-and-candle principle comes into play with striking semblance to the original type.

So much has been written and said about the arrangement, design, and working of the baths of the ancient Romans, and of the Oriental nations of to-day, that it will be superfluous and unnecessary here to enter upon the subject, fascinating though it be to any one interested in the building of modern baths. An intelligent study of old plans, and of the writings of those who have given their attention to the elucidation of the special purposes to which the various apartments of the Roman Thermæ were devoted, serves in no small degree to a complete understanding of the problems involved in the perfecting of the bath in modern times. So also with regard to the Hammam of the East, an acquaintance with its plan and working is equally instructive. But to fully elucidate the history of thermo-therapeutic architecture would require a volume of itself, since the many questions that present themselves to the student of ancient baths cannot be properly understood without considerable and lengthy description. Those desirous of studying the subject of the design of ancient and Oriental baths will find many works within easy reach. In his 'Manual of the Turkish Bath,' the late David Urquhart has given a most complete account of Eastern baths; and in Sir Erasmus Wilson's 'Eastern or Turkish Bath,' will be found a popular account of the sumptuous baths of antiquity, which will serve as an introduction to further researches with the aid of more abstruse works, such as Wollaston's 'Thermæ Romano-Britannicæ,' Cameron's 'Baths of the Romans,' and particularly the careful description of the Pompeian Balneæ in Sir William Gell's 'Pompeiana.' In the admirable works of Samuel Lysons, the Gloucestershire antiquary, will be found interesting accounts of the remains of old Roman baths in this country; and in Daremberg and Saglio's 'Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines,' is a most capable essay on ancient Balneæ. In Eastern travellers' books, desultory descriptions of the Oriental bath will be found; and in Owen Jones's work on the Palace of the Alhambra, at Granada, plans and sections are given of the elegant little bath that the Moorish builders erected therein.

For the purposes of this work, and for the sake of brevity and convenience, I have thought fit to adopt the following terms from the old Roman vocabulary, to designate the apartments of the modern bath. I respectively term the first, second, and third hot rooms, the Tepidarium, Calidarium, and Laconicum. Although the exact nature of the ancient Roman laconicum is still a question in debate, I have chosen to employ the term to designate herein the hottest of the hot. The washing room I call the Lavatorium; the cooling room, the Frigidarium; and the separate dressing room, the Apodyterium.

The modern "Turkish bath" is rather a revival of the Roman bath, than that of the East. Among the Orientals, the air of the sudorific chambers is charged more or less heavily with vapour. In the ancient Roman bath, the atmosphere must have been more or less dry. And it has been decided by physiologists and physicians of the hydropathic school, that the air of the bath cannot be too free of all moisture. With a perfectly dry atmosphere a high degree of heat can be borne, and the dryness moreover is conducive to perspiration. This absolute need for a dry atmosphere in the bath will be found fully explained in an admirable work by Dr. W.B. Hunter, M.D., entitled 'The Turkish Bath: its Uses and Abuses.' But notwithstanding the fact that the type of bath employed at the present day resembles, in point of dryness of atmosphere, that of ancient Rome, the name of Turkish bath, originally given to it by Mr. Urquhart, has held good, and must now be accepted as the correct modern designation.

Neither the term "Turkish," however, nor the designation "hot-air" bath, convey to the uninitiated any idea of the true principle of "the bath," as I shall hereinafter call it for brevity's sake. More properly it is a "heat bath"—a thermal cure. In the ordinary hot-air bath, the heated air is simply a medium; and, as I have endeavoured to explain in the body of this little work, the heat is best supplied to the body of the bather by direct radiation. By the "Turkish bath," therefore, I would be understood to mean a method of supplying pure heat—not necessarily hot air—to the surface of the human body for hygienic, remedial, and curative purposes.[1]

In the following pages, however, I have, in this respect, treated of the subject from the broadest point of view, and have explained the method of designing the hot-air bath pure and simple, looking upon the convected and radiating heat principles as both good of their kind, and perfectly admissible modes of applying heat to the human frame. I have adhered to this plan throughout, because, even supposing that it were shown conclusively to-morrow, that the principle of heating by convection is absolutely wrong, baths of this type would, owing to the slow march of improvement in this country, still be built and require to be planned. Moreover, it has been in the past, and still is, the generally accepted idea that the Turkish bath is a hot-air bath pure and simple.

Medical men of eminence who have studied the question have thought fit to retain the term "hot air" in descriptions of the Turkish bath. In deference to their opinion I may hereinafter, in places, speak of the hot-air bath. The arguments put forward in favour of radiant heat, with a comparatively cool atmosphere, in the sudorific chambers, are, for the most part, the result of my own experience and study.

I treat of my subject in two sections, dealing with public and private baths respectively. Chapters II. to VII. are devoted to the elucidation of the principles to be observed in the building of public baths, either for true public purposes or as commercial speculations. It is unnecessary to speak of these two classes of baths under separate heads: what is required of the one is required of the other. The only difference is that one is the property of the people, and may be required to be designed in a block of buildings containing other kinds of baths; and the other is owned by a company of persons or by a single individual as the case may be, and is generally an establishment complete in itself.

It is not to the credit of the English nation that so little has been done in connection with Turkish bath building for the people. The attention given to the question of supplying bath-houses of any kind is of the most meagre character. The provisions of the Public Baths and Wash-houses Act are entirely inadequate. In these matters the German nation is far ahead of us. Fortunately for the general health, the Englishman is renowned for his morning "tub." But the cold tub is merely a tonic bath, and the Turkish bath cleanses both the inward and outward man, besides constituting a most perfect tonic. The cleanliness of the vast body of the English depends on the warm shallow bath, an ineffective means at the best, and, often, when taken at a high temperature, fraught with a real danger to certain constitutions. Used, as customary, without a tonic application of cold water, it is eminently conducive to cold-catching. But one cannot blame the average Englishman for his neglect of the health-giving habit of scientific bathing, unless he sees the advantage of, and has means to afford, a Turkish bath in his own house. He looks in vain for an appropriate, comfortable, and attractive bath-house provided for him by the Legislature, and he dislikes the thought of the impure atmosphere and odours of the so-called "Turkish baths" provided by enterprising business men. He can do nothing but fall back on his warm water bath and cold morning tub.

In the second section, comprised in Chapters VIII. to X., I have dealt with private baths, including the bath in the house and mansion, in institutions of one kind and another, and in connection with training stables. In the chapter on the bath in the private house, will be found plans of baths of several types, from the smallest and least expensive to the most elaborate and costly.

It is my hope that this little work may lead to some attention being bestowed on the question of providing public Turkish baths worthy of the country; that it may add a stimulus to the building of high-class baths as commercial speculations; and that, from its pages, those desirous of experiencing the luxury of a model Turkish bath in their own homes, may learn the best methods of its design and construction.

CHAPTER II.

A good bath does not necessarily mean an elaborate and expensive one, but primarily one where the heating and ventilation are on the latest and most approved principles, and where the shampooing and washing rooms are kept sweet and clean, the bathing appliances effective, and the cooling rooms ample, and supplied with an abundance of fresh air. This is not the result of sumptuousness and elaboration, but of pure applied science. Amplitude of space, however, facilitates its attainment, as it is difficult to render a cramped bath beneficial and attractive.

By an attractive bath, I would be understood to mean one in which the visitor will feel interest in the design; where pleasant objects are presented to his eye, both in the sudorific chambers and in the cooling rooms. Artistic decorations have here a commercial value. The bath requiring time, the bather is compelled to pass some hours in the various apartments, and it is therefore highly desirable that his surroundings be rendered pleasant and entertaining. In a Turkish bath, as in other architectural matters, this is not the result of a prodigal expenditure on costly decorations and fittings, but rather of a careful arrangement of necessary and desirable features, and a knowledge of the methods of obtaining piquancy of effect by their distribution on the plan.

The arrangement of the modern bath is modified from that of the Ancients and Orientals to suit the accepted form of practice in this country, so that the order of the different processes through which the bather passes governs the disposition of the various apartments. The chief object to be attained is to induce a more or less vigorous perspiration by the application of heat. This heat is now generally applied through the medium of the air, which is raised to a high temperature by being passed over and in contact with the heated surfaces of stoves of various designs, or by direct radiation from hot metal or firebrick. Theoretically, the generally-adopted method of applying the heat to the bather might be greatly improved, but practically it has been found the best. Into these questions, however, I shall enter when treating of the heating and ventilating of the bath. For the present, it will suffice to say that the chief object to be attained in the bath is the supplying of an abundance of pure hot air to the various sudorific chambers, and the rapid withdrawal of the foul air and exhalations.

Since the disposition of the various apartments is governed by the methods of bathing in vogue, it will be necessary to first give the reader a brief account of the various processes undergone by the bather. The object of the profuse perspiration to be attained is twofold—(1) To cleanse the blood of impurities; and (2) to loosen the dead scales of the epidermis, or scarf-skin, that spreads itself everywhere over the true skin or cuticle. Besides this, however, physiologists tell us that the heat itself has a beneficial effect on the body in other ways, and is, in cases of disease, a most powerful curative and remedial agent. This latter fact explains the necessity for the high temperatures employed, as mere perspiration could be attained with a comparatively low degree of heat.

The course of treatment to be undergone by the bather, as given by Sir Erasmus Wilson, is—(1) Exposure of the naked body to hot dry air. (2) Ablution with warm and cold water. (3) Cooling and drying the skin. In addition to these, however, there should be added the process of "massage" or shampooing before washing.

The perspiration is attained in the various hot rooms—the Tepidarium, Calidarium, and Laconicum. The nature of these apartments—which I shall hereinafter consider in detail—must be determined by the pretensions of the establishment.

Perspiration having been induced, the bather submits to the kneading of the muscles of the trunk and limbs by the shampooer. For this operation, which restores tone and vigour to the muscular and nervous system, a separate and distinct apartment should, in high class baths, be provided. Vigorous friction with a coarse glove succeeds the shampooing. This detaches the dead portions of the epidermis, and is an operation generally practised in the Lavatorium—a washing room adjoining the shampooing room. In the same place the bather receives copious ablutions with warm water. The less robust conclude the cleansing process with a douche, needle, spray, or shower bath, graduated from warm to cold; and the strong bather, by plunging into a bath of cold water, the object of which is to contract and close the sweat-glands and pores of the skin that have been swelled and opened by the high temperatures of the calorific apartments. For these purposes a small room, with the various appliances named, and a large chamber containing a more or less ample plunge bath, must be provided. In small baths, provision for both these operations is made in one general shampooing and washing room, where the bather is "massed," rubbed down, washed, and takes the plunge or shower bath. The plunge may, if thought advantageous, be placed partly in the cool apartment and partly in the hot rooms, in which case, the bather dives under a glazed partition of some sort, which, furnished with an india-rubber flap dangling in the water, prevents the hot air of the sudatorium from entering the cooling rooms.

The above description gives an outline of the cleansing and hygienic processes, and of the nature of the requirements of those portions of the bath devoted to their attainment. I have named them first as being the most indispensable portion of the necessary suite of rooms, since the bath may exist if it be merely in the form of an old Irish "sweating-house," or a somewhat similar construction of the North American Indian; but without the heated chamber and its appurtenances there can be no bath.

The next important features to be considered are the dressing and cooling rooms. Before entering the bath rooms proper, the bather must divest himself of his clothing, and assume the bathing garment. The dressing room or Apodyterium, and the cooling room or Frigidarium, are generally made one and the same; but they may, with advantage, be designed as separate and distinct apartments, the provision for dressing and undressing consisting of a room or rooms with small dressing-boxes around it. The frigidarium will then be a simple apartment designed for the economical reception of the reposing couches, it being absolutely essential that the bather rest awhile, after the bath, to allow the body to gradually assume its normal temperature. Neglect of this precaution may cause a renewal of perspiration, and possibly a "cold."

If a combined apodyterium and frigidarium be adopted, it must be fitted with a number of divans to accommodate a given number of persons, or be divided into smaller spaces with dwarf screens, each space receiving a pair of couches. The divisions may be effected by more or less elaborate and ornamental wooden partitions. In ladies' baths more privacy must be observed. Each lady bather should have a private dressing and reposing room, even if only formed by dwarf wooden partitions.

An arrangement may be designed whereby the bather enters first a room fitted with a number of dressing-boxes, and then passes through the frigidarium on his way to the hot rooms, whence he returns after his bath. Where the establishment is on a large scale, the arrangement may lead the bather first to a room fitted with dressing-boxes, then to the hot rooms, and finally, by way of the plunge bath, into a commodious and separate cooling room.

Subsidiary to the cooling and dressing rooms should be others for the attendants, manager, and also for the hairdresser and chiropodist, or, at any rate, some sort of provision made for them. A pay office, with counter and a set of lockers for the receipt of the bather's watch, money, and other valuables, should be the first object that one meets on entering from the vestibule connecting the establishment with the street. In connection with this office may be the manager's room, and provision for the supply of refreshments. If the bath be the property of a company, a board room may be required. As on entering a bath the visitor must immediately divest himself of his boots and shoes, in order that he may not pollute apartments that are devoted to the attainment of that cleanliness which is next to godliness, a raised step must be provided at the entrance to the apodyterium to warn him to enter unshod, or a portion of the combined cooling and dressing room may be divided off by similar means. Provision for the boots and shoes must be in the form of a set of pigeon-holes near the entrance, where, also, racks for coats and hats must be placed.

The hair-dressing room and accommodation for the chiropodist—if he does not practise his art at the couch of the bather—must adjoin the frigidarium, as also should the attendants' room. A lavatory must be placed in the frigidarium when used as the dressing room. Closet accommodation should be accessible from the same apartment, but should be perfectly cut off from it by means of a passage or lobby. The greatest care should be taken to prevent these conveniences from becoming offensive. Returning from the bath, the sense of smell is peculiarly sensitive, and the slightest odour is detected. The worst position for the closets is near the door by which the bather leaves the lavatorium. Defects in this point may ruin an otherwise excellent bath. If the cooling rooms and hot rooms be on separate floors, the closets may be designed off a landing on the staircase. In the separate accommodation for attendants and shampooers the same caution must be observed.

Adjoining, under, or partly under, the laconicum must be placed the heating apparatus in its chamber, with stokery and provision for fuel, &c. The stokery should be large, light, and properly ventilated, and the attendants should be able easily to communicate with the stoker. Of the arrangements for heating and supplying the water to the lavatorium I shall speak in another chapter. Laundry, linen and towel rooms, and a drying room must be provided. They are important necessities, and should not be cramped in dimensions.

CHAPTER III.

Although the process of the bath determines the position of the various apartments in relation to one another, the exact disposition of the plan must be governed by the shape of the ground to be covered, the nature of the site and surroundings, and—if the bath be constructed in an existing building—the amount of space allotted to it. The relative position of chamber to chamber of the sudatorium, and of the latter to the cooling rooms, must remain more or less constant; but the angle of connection with each other, their shape, proportions, and floor levels, must, together with the positions of the subsidiary apartments, be determined by the exigencies of the site, and considerations of convenience and economy. Frequently, the architect will be called upon to design a bath in a given space in the lower floors of some existing building. He may be given the ground or basement floor to make the most of as best he can. His plan is thus considerably hampered. If the site includes the basement and ground floor of an ordinary house, he may arrange the offices and cooling and dressing rooms on the ground floor; and the hot rooms, shampooing room, and bath rooms, in the basement. Where possible, the hot rooms should be pushed out beyond the back wall of the houses, and lighted from the top. In cities, the hot rooms will often have to be in the actual basement. Where space is valuable a whole house may be given up to baths if the floors be made fire and heat proof. The basement may be devoted to hot rooms and shampooing rooms, the ground floor to offices and dressing rooms, and the first floor to cooling rooms. Ladies' baths, again, can be arranged on the floors above, and both baths can be heated from one apparatus. In a bath where three floors are available, the first floor may be devoted to extra cooling and dressing rooms. In inexpensive sites the bath may be all on one level. This is the most convenient arrangement, but in large cities is generally too costly. The Hammam and Savoy baths, in London, are, however, all on one level, the former being practically all above ground, and the latter constructed in the basement of an existing building.

The London Hammam was the first public Turkish bath erected in this country, and owes its existence to the fervid zeal of the late David Urquhart. It was erected in 1862, from the designs of the late Somers Clarke. The bath rooms proper are modelled on the Eastern plan, and have quite an Oriental effect, with the stars of stained glass sparkling in the sombre domed tepidarium. In this bath the office is arranged in the old building in Jermyn Street, adjoining which is the combined frigidarium and apodyterium, a structure of wood, originally intended as a temporary building only. This is covered with an open-timbered roof, and divided into nave and aisles by cut-wood posts, and lighted by a clerestory. These posts form the divisions of the divans, which are separated from one another by ornamented wood partitions worked in an Eastern manner. Connected by double doors with this apartment are the hot rooms. The main room—a very moderately-heated tepidarium—is a square on plan, with splayed angles, over which rises a dome of brickwork. On either side of this square, and connected with it by the horseshoe arches supporting the dome, are transept-like apartments, used as portions of the tepidarium, similar adjuncts existing at the ends and joining on the one hand the frigidarium, and on the other a heated smoking saloon, which occupies a position corresponding to that of a Lady-chapel in this very ecclesiastical-looking plan. On either side of this saloon are two calidaria. A drying room and laundry are arranged over the smoking saloon, and w.c.'s, &c., are placed at the end of the latter apartment. In the splayed angles supporting the dome are doors leading to four apartments—two used as hot rooms of different temperatures, and the others as a washing-room and a shampooer's waiting room. Under the dome there is an extensive platform of marble slabs, beneath which is the douche room, reached by a short flight of steps. The plunge bath is placed, partly in the tepidarium, and partly in the frigidarium, with an arrangement to prevent the transmission of the hot air, such as I have herein before explained. In the centre of the frigidarium is a little marble fountain. One of the divans is partitioned off for the accommodation of the chiropodist. A gallery is provided for the hairdresser, and connected with a shop in Jermyn Street. The ground sloping considerably, a descent of a few steps has to be made to reach the frigidarium from the street. A refreshment bar is placed in the frigidarium. The manager's room is on the second floor, adjoining the old building, and has a window overlooking the frigidarium.

The Hammam was the first public Turkish bath erected in this country, and the Savoy (Fig. 1) is one of the latest and largest, and also on one level. It was designed by Mr. C. J. Phipps, F.S.A., to suit the basement of an existing building. Entering from Savoy Hill, a short passage conducts to a staircase leading to the vestibule, where are provided rails for hats and coats. The counter of the ticket-office is placed at the entrance to the frigidarium, and near this office is the committee room—the bath being the property of a private company. In vaults projecting under the street, provision is made for an engine and dynamo. The frigidarium serves also as the apodyterium, and is cut up into divans by ornamental wood partitions. Connected with it is a saloon for the hairdresser and chiropodist, and an attendants' room. A lavatory is provided in a recess. Access is gained to the hot rooms through double doors. The plunge bath is placed partly in the hot rooms and partly in the frigidarium. The tepidarium is divided by arcades into miniature nave and aisles. Two subdivisions at the end of the tepidarium lead to the calidarium, adjoining which is the heating apparatus, fitted with two of Messrs. Constantine's "Convoluted" stoves. Access to the stokery is gained by a passage at the end of the tepidarium. The shampooing room is placed off the cooler end of the tepidarium, dwarf walls separating it from the latter apartment, as also from the lavatorium. Here, there are six marble basins, corresponding with the six marble slabs in the shampooing room. A small chamber is screened off the lavatorium to accommodate the douche and spray. A passage leads from the douche room to the attendants' room, by way of the laundry. Off this passage, and approached by doors from two of the divans, are the w.c.'s, &c., for the bathers' use. Provision for the supply of refreshments is made at the back of the office. This bath is designed in an Eastern style.

In the generality of modern baths, the frigidarium forms also the apodyterium. This arrangement is economical of space, and has been found, in practice, the most convenient for bathers; but there is much to be said in favour of a separate and distinct cooling room, such as that at the Camden Town Turkish Baths. Erected from the designs of Mr. H. H. Bridgman, F.R.I.B.A., these baths are specially noteworthy for their spacious frigidarium and ample plunge bath. Entering from the street, a corridor conducts to a short flight of stairs leading to the office. Adjoining this is an apodyterium, fitted with two ranges of dressing-boxes, one above the other, a gallery forming the floor of the upper tier. From hence a short staircase leads to the door of the tepidarium, at right angles to which is the calidarium. Adjoining the tepidarium is a combined shampooing and washing room, a door in which opens into a chamber containing a plunge bath of quite exceptional dimensions. A staircase leads to the door of the lofty and spacious cooling room. This is lighted from the top, and contains a fireplace, a feature usually omitted in cooling rooms, and really superfluous, though adding greatly to cheerfulness of aspect in the winter. From this frigidarium the bather can return to his dressing-box by way of a lobby. Thus he makes a complete round, and does not meet the incoming bathers on the staircase to the tepidarium.

The latest built elaborate commercial baths in London are those of Messrs. Nevill in Northumberland Avenue (Fig. 2). They were designed by Mr. Robert Walker, F.R.I.B.A., and comprise both ladies' and gentlemen's baths, though, as at the old Pompeian Balneæ, the former set are ungallantly cramped into a very small space. They occupy a corner site, and the entrance to the gentlemen's bath is formed at the rounded angle. In the vestibule is the usual cashier's office, and provision for hats and coats. From the vestibule the combined cooling and dressing room is entered, after passing the boot room on the left and the refreshment bar on the right. Between the boot room and the staircase is the hairdresser's room. Dwarf wooden partitions divide the cooling room. Off a landing on the staircase are a lavatory and w.c.'s and toilet-table. The staircase leads to the first floor—where are provided extra couches—and to the bath rooms in the basement. The first floor is practically a gallery. In the basement are three hot rooms, the tepidarium being an elegant apartment elaborately adorned with marbles and rich faïence. A heated smoking room adjoins the second hot room. There are in this bath three shampooing rooms—an arrangement conducing greatly to privacy. A douche room and plunge bath are provided in the angle of the building. Vaults under the street are utilised as a laundry, attendants' room, meter room, and engineer's shop, and as store-rooms.