Northumberland Baths/City Hall

City Hall and Public Baths

This steel-framed building was designed by Nicholas and Dixon-Spain and completed in 1928. It is constructed of brown brick with ashlar and red brick dressings, and features slate hipped roofs with an ashlar plinth.

The Northumberland Road front presents two storeys with 25 windows. A central entrance block projects slightly and contains 7 windows, with a 3-window centre topped by a large pediment incorporating a circular window. Three round-headed arches with panel pilasters and rusticated ashlar are set above a deeply moulded band. Above these are three glazing bar sashes, the central one with a moulded ashlar surround and brackets supporting a flat hood. Set back on either side is a rusticated ground floor with small barred basement windows, above which are single glazing bar sashes. The upper floor also has single glazing bar sashes, while the outer bays, set back further still, feature glazing bar windows to each floor. The 9-window side wings are similar in treatment, each featuring a tall ashlar Doric portico with central columns between flanking antae that project slightly in front of further antae topped by a heavy entablature and parapet. Set back on either side are blank walls, with further blank walls beyond. Above these are 5 square windows with moulded surrounds, flanked by single small square windows and further single windows beyond, all topped by a coped parapet.

The College Street front is two storeys with 11 windows. The central section projects slightly and is articulated with giant Doric pilasters with ashlar bases and red brick dressings across 9 windows. Bays 4 and 6 contain doorways with double panel doors and bolection mould surrounds, while the remaining ground floor openings are square with plain stone surrounds. Above the doorways are tall panels with red brick surrounds. A thick ashlar band runs above this, with 9 windows with moulded ashlar surrounds and bracketed cills above; the central 7 openings have glazing bar cross casements while the outer ones are blind. A dentilated entablature with brick frieze and panel parapet tops this section. Single bays set back at either side contain double panel doors with bolection mould surrounds, above which is a single glazing bar sash to each floor with red brick surrounds, finishing with a plain entablature.

The John Dobson Street front is similar, featuring giant Doric pilasters supporting an entablature and panel parapet. Three large round-headed doorways with moulded ashlar surrounds and large keystones occupy the centre and the positions over the bays. Between these are 3 square windows on either side with plain ashlar surrounds, and above are 9 square windows with moulded ashlar surrounds. At the rear stands a tall tapering octagonal brick chimney stack with an ashlar moulded cap.

The City Hall interior features a marble-lined foyer with 3 round arches at either end, embellished with mahogany and gilt fans and flanked by 2 urn-shaped lamps. The north wall contains 3 similar arches with double panel doors, while the south wall has 5 similar entrance arches with double glazed doors and fanlights. The ceiling is deeply coffered in plaster. Staircases with metal balustrades featuring wave mould decoration occupy either side. The hall itself is rectangular with a narrower raised stage to the north and a large gallery with extended curved sides to the south. The gallery front is decorated with rosettes, panels and wave moulds, and features a deeply coved ceiling above a dentilated cornice with an elaborate coffered centre. Behind the stage is a later organ in an eighteenth-century style case.

The Public Baths foyer is rectangular with round-headed plaster openings and deeply moulded coving, leading into groin-vaulted corridors. The mens bath contains a large rectangular tiled pool with a cantilevered viewing gallery around 3 slides, featuring curved metal railings with Greek-key pattern, stepped wooden decking and wooden rails. The ceiling is coffered plaster with a central segmentally curved section incorporating sunken overlights. The womens bath is similar though smaller, without the gallery, and features a simpler ceiling with a curved centre and overlights. The Turkish bath contains ashlar Doric pilasters and dado, mahogany-panelled changing rooms and doors, a circular glazed dome and coffered ceiling with an inlaid floor. The steam room features a groin-vaulted ceiling with 3 circular domes and marble slabs.