Newcastle City Baths keeps its restored Turkish baths steaming under new care

Next to the City Hall on Northumberland Road stands one of Newcastle's most handsome civic buildings, and one of its most unusual places to relax. Newcastle City Baths, Grade II listed and designed by Nicholas & Dixon-Spain, opened in the late 1920s as part of a scheme that also included the neighbouring City Hall. It replaced the earlier Northumberland Baths by John Dobson, completed in 1838.

The building's Turkish baths were special from the start. Unlike typical council baths, which passed hot air through rooms in sequence, fresh filtered air was fed into each hot room separately at the required temperature. The cooling room, with its inlaid floor, circular glazed dome, curtained cubicles and mahogany panelling, is a reminder of how grand public bathing once was.

The baths have had their share of uncertainty. In 2012 their future was placed under review, but in 2016 the leisure charity Fusion Lifestyle took over and led a £7.5 million restoration. The gym and swimming pool reopened in January 2020, and the Turkish baths followed in April 2024 once the glass dome had been restored, completing the project.

In 2026 the building entered another new chapter. When Fusion went into administration, Newcastle City Baths was one of the centres transferred to new operators, and it is now run by Greenwich Leisure Limited under its Better brand.

Today visitors can still follow the time-honoured ritual. Guests begin in a tranquil relaxation area before moving through three restored hot chambers, the tepidarium, caldarium and laconium, then the steam room, finishing with a refreshing waterfall bucket or a cooling dip in the 100-year-old pool. Better describes the spa as a modern sanctuary within a historic landmark.

There is plenty for regular fitness fans too, including a gym with cardio, resistance and free weights, a swimming pool set within the heritage building, a wood-panelled sauna, and a studio hosting classes from HIIT and Body Pump to yoga and Pilates.

The spa is open from 10am to 6pm on weekdays and from 8.30am to 3.30pm at weekends, and the baths are a short walk from Haymarket and Monument Metro stations.

Memberships, day passes and Turkish baths sessions can be booked through the Better website.