The final two Victorian mirrors in Carlisle’s Turkish Baths have been taken without permission, leaving volunteers devastated.
The Grade II listed baths originally had 12 mirrors, with a small shelf, for each of its booths but over time, 10 were damaged or lost and only two remained.
Now, it looks as though the final two have been taken between September 25 and October 23.
The building is owned by Carlisle City Council and run by contractor GLL. A volunteer group – the Friends of Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths, look after the Victorian sauna and steam room.
A group spokesman said: “The friends group have confirmed that no one from GLL or the city council have removed them for any reason. This is a case of heritage crime. We just want them back.”
It is a double blow for the group, as the Turkish Baths had their last operational day on Saturday.
Carlisle-born Olympic swimmer Wendy Burrell was one of over 50 people who gathered early on Saturday morning to bid a fond farewell to the City’s 138-year-old Public Baths.
She was just 16 when she represented Great Britain at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and spent thousands of hours training with Carlisle Secondary Amateur Swimming Club at the James Street Baths from the age of eight.
She said, “Without the baths I wouldn’t have had all the experiences I had as a teenager. I travelled to so many countries, made lots and lots of friends and it’s all really thanks to Carlisle Baths.”
People joined campaigners to say goodbye and thank you, before the baths closed their doors for the last time.
Built at a cost of £7,750 with profits from the nearby Corporation-owned gasworks, Carlisle Baths comprised first and second class plunge pools, slipper baths and showers for men, and a small ladies plunge pool when they opened in 1884. Although initially for bathing and washing, by the time of World War I, the plunge pools had become the focus for swimming, and in 1920 the city’s first Amateur Swimming Club, Border City ASC, was formed.
Julie Minns, chair of the friends, said: “Clearly it was time Carlisle had new modern swimming pools, but that does not mean the Victorian and Turkish Baths cannot continue to support the health and wellbeing of local people as they have for over a century.
“We are delighted that Cumberland Council has committed to put health and wellbeing at the heart of everything they do, and we look forward to working with them to develop a flagship Centre for Health and Wellbeing serving the whole of Cumbria.”
The friends have secured funding earlier this year for a stage one viability study into their proposal to develop the James Street building and restore the Grade II listed Turkish Baths.
Anyone with information about the mirrors should contact police on 101.
