Former Public Baths

The former public baths, originally built as a warehouse and later used by Yaar Signs Printers, date back to 1855 and were designed by Thomas Worthington. The building is constructed of brick with stone dressings and features a Welsh slate roof. It stands two storeys high with a central attic storey and has a symmetrical design with a 13-window range. The entrances are located in the fourth bay on each side; one entrance is now blocked while the other retains its paired panelled doors.

The ground floor showcases a continuous range of stone-dressed arcading, with stepped voussoirs above round-arched recesses that house entrances and windows, each featuring a console as a keystone supporting a cornice above. The building has stressed angle quoins. The upper storey is defined by brick pilasters with plain stone capitals, and the windows are set in stone architraves within shallow recesses. There are coats of arms in blind panels on either side.

The central attic storey has an arcaded range of five round-arched windows separated by brick and stone pilasters, with paired brackets supporting sharply overhanging eaves. The end wall stacks are located on this projecting storey and on the outer gable ends. At the rear, the former baths feature twin-span part-glazed roofs. Inside, the bath areas remain, supported by rare early laminated timber trusses. Semicircular arch-braces spring from cantilevered iron consoles that support the principal rafters, with wooden cross-bracing infilling the spandrels. These baths are an important example of early purpose-built public baths.