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These pictures show the eerie inside of a historic Newcastle building that has lain empty for years. The Gibson Street Baths, opened in 1907, was the fourth such facility built in Newcastle

under the the 1846 Public Baths and Wash-houses Act and is now one of just three pre-1914 swimming baths still standing in Tyne-and-Wear, alongside Wallsend and Byker. Today, the baths stand

empty, visited only occasionally by urban explorers, while the building visibly deteriorates. You will still find ornate decorate tiling showing bathing scenes and cavorting mermaids

contrasted with vegetation growing out of walls and parts of the building propped up by wooden supports. KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS AND TOP STORIES FROM THE NORTH EAST

WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER The building has now been placed on the Victorian Society's Top 10 Endangered Buildings List for 2025. Owned by Newcastle City Council, the building now stands

empty but local authority bosses say they are looking to put it on the market again soon. The rapid, unplanned growth of towns and cities during the Industrial Revolution left little

provision for public hygiene. With disease widespread, the 1846 Public Baths and Wash-houses Act -prompted by a campaign led by the Bishop of London - became the first legislation empowering

local authorities to build public bathing facilities, funded via the Poor Rate. In Newcastle, an 1845 report highlighted the issue: with river access curtailed by development along the

Tyne, working-class people were left without suitable or private places to bathe. Existing baths in the city’s upper parts were inaccessible to the poor. Recommendations included creating

affordable or free public baths near steam engines to provide hot water in winter. The Gibson Street Baths were constructed at a cost of £28,000, Alderman Holmes described it as “the most

complete set of baths for their size in England.” The opening ceremony was marked by a performance from Olympic swimmer Arthur 'Jack' Jarvis, and the baths provided both slipper

baths and laundry facilities. Men and women entered through separate doors, and the interior boasts exquisite tiling. The men’s entrance hall features four remarkable panels: two signed by

the celebrated Dorset tile-makers Carter & Co, depicting mermaids, and two others showing a water polo match and a diver in striped swimwear - extraordinary works praised by

architectural historian Lynn Pearson as without parallel, even in Britain’s grandest historic baths. A fifth panel lists the 15 members of the Baths & Wash Houses Committee, as well as

the architect and builders, beneath Newcastle’s coat of arms. During WWII, the baths’ reservoir served the National Fire Service. In later decades, as private bathrooms and washing machines

became widespread, demand for municipal facilities declined, and Gibson Street Baths was eventually adapted for badminton. Newcastle City Council put it up for sale in 2016. The move sparked

strong public opposition, with local residents campaigning to preserve the baths for community use. Their efforts led to the building being listed as an Asset of Community Value. Though

campaigners developed plans for reuse, they couldn’t finalise them within the short six-month window allowed. The site then lingered on the market for two years; in 2018, a potential

developer emerged, but no sale was completed.