The Turkish Bath Part 1

The Turkish Bath.

by Robert Owen Allsop.

PREFACE.

The present work originally appeared in the form of a series of ill.u.s.trated articles in the columns of the _Building News_. It has been carefully revised and enlarged with the addition of much new matter. The object of the author in publis.h.i.+ng the work in its present form is to provide, in addition to a text-book for the architect, a treatise which shall enable the public to form their own judgment as to the relative merits of the baths that compete for their patronage. The principles, herein enunciated, upon which good baths should be built, will be easily grasped by the ordinary reader; and the detailed plans and instructions will, it is hoped, supply such information as will enable the designer of baths to cope with the exigencies of any and every case with which he may be confronted.

37, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON.

_March 1890._

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Since the revival of the bath of antiquity, and its introduction into this country under the name of the Turkish bath, this method of bathing has become very generally adopted; and although onward progress is rendered less rapid than it might be, by the wide-spread popular ignorance that ascribes an element of danger to the bath, erroneous impressions are being gradually removed, and the continual building of new baths testifies to the manner in which the inst.i.tution flourishes on British soil.

To what extent the delusion concerning the supposed danger connected with this form of bathing is to be ascribed to popular ignorance and prejudice, or to the fact that baths of unsuitable design and construction, and of faulty heating and ventilation, are put before the public, it would be hard to say. Certain it is that the latter cause has done much--very much--injury.

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 subst.i.tutes 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 subst.i.tute. With the public the best bath will be the most elaborate and most flas.h.i.+ly 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 _Thermae_ 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 'Thermae Romano-Britannicae,' Cameron's 'Baths of the Romans,' and particularly the careful description of the Pompeian _Balneae_ in Sir William Gell's 'Pompeiana.' In the admirable works of Samuel Lysons, the Gloucesters.h.i.+re antiquary, will be found interesting accounts of the remains of old Roman baths in this country; and in Daremberg and Saglio's 'Dictionnaire des Antiquites Grecques et Romaines,' is a most capable essay on ancient _Balneae_. 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 _Laconic.u.m_. Although the exact nature of the ancient Roman _laconic.u.m_ is still a question in debate, I have chosen to employ the term to designate herein the hottest of the hot.

The was.h.i.+ng 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., ent.i.tled '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 cla.s.ses 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 const.i.tuting 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 const.i.tutions. 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 inst.i.tutions 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-cla.s.s 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.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: The Germans, with more perception and accuracy than ourselves, term the therapeutic agent that we called the Turkish bath, the "Roman-Irish bath"--the _Romisch-irische Bader_. Both the ancient Roman bath and the old Irish "sweating-house," gave out radiant heat from the walls to the bather, and did not depend on the supplying of hot air.]

CHAPTER II.

THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF A PUBLIC BATH.

In order to avoid unnecessary expense in working and management, a public Turkish bath should be convenient and _compact_ in plan. It should be as perfect as possible in regard to heating and ventilation, in order to insure patronage; and, for the same reason, it should be made a thing of beauty. A badly-ventilated, inconvenient, and ill-adorned bath does harm, both to the bather and the cause. It is its own enemy, and harmful also to all other baths; whereas every ably-designed bath has in itself the elements of success, and a.s.sists existing inst.i.tutions by increasing the number of converts to the process.

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 was.h.i.+ng 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 s.p.a.ce, 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 pa.s.s 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 pa.s.ses 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 pa.s.sed 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 "ma.s.sage" or shampooing before was.h.i.+ng.

The perspiration is attained in the various hot rooms--the _Tepidarium_, _Calidarium_, and _Laconic.u.m_. 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 cla.s.s baths, be provided. Vigorous friction with a coa.r.s.e glove succeeds the shampooing.

This detaches the dead portions of the epidermis, and is an operation generally practised in the _Lavatorium_--a was.h.i.+ng 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 was.h.i.+ng room, where the bather is "ma.s.sed," 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 part.i.tion 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 a.s.sume 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 a.s.sume 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 s.p.a.ces with dwarf screens, each s.p.a.ce receiving a pair of couches. The divisions may be effected by more or less elaborate and ornamental wooden part.i.tions. 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 part.i.tions.

An arrangement may be designed whereby the bather enters first a room fitted with a number of dressing-boxes, and then pa.s.ses 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 G.o.dliness, 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 pa.s.sage 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 laconic.u.m 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.