Templemore Baths celebrates historic opening year

Wednesday 3 July 2024

Templemore Baths in East Belfast celebrated its first anniversary recently following a phenomenal opening twelve months. The new visitor centre and state-of-the-art leisure and spa facilities opened to the public in June 2023 following a £17 million project to restore and expand the historic Victorian building.

The interior has been repurposed into an interactive visitor centre focusing on the heritage of the much-loved local landmark, telling the story of its former function as public baths and swimming pool. Many of its original features have been sympathetically restored including the ‘major pool’ which will be fully operational again, and the old slipper baths.

The former courtyard area has been transformed into a café within an attractive new atrium, featuring the original Victorian fountain which has been restored as its centrepiece.

A newly built 28,000 square foot extension has more than doubled the building’s footprint. It includes modern leisure facilities including a 25m six-lane swimming pool with spectator seating, an 80-station gym, spa facilities and changing rooms.

Jacqui Pope, Head of Service for GLL, the social enterprise who operates Templemore Baths and 15 other public leisure facilities across Belfast said: “We are celebrating an extraordinary opening year for Templemore Baths, one of the Belfast’s most historically significant buildings. To see it transformed from a crumbling, derelict shell into a beautifully restored space for the local community and visitors is just fantastic.

“We’ve welcomed 3000 new members who use our leisure facilities regularly to improve their wellbeing whether that’s in our pools, in the gym or in one of our fitness classes. 1700 young people are learning to swim with us every week gaining an important life skill for the future.”

Besides the leisure offering, the new visitor centre celebrates the heritage of the building and the importance of public baths to people in the early twentieth century. It also describes the popularity of the two swimming pools in Templemore and reflects on the social history and industrial heritage of east Belfast and the wider city. In the last year, the team has welcomed over 3000 visitors to learn about the heritage of this part of Belfast.

The £17 million redevelopment of Templemore Baths was funded by Belfast City Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project was also made possible thanks to the transfer of the former Templemore Avenue Hospital site from the Department for Communities to Belfast City Council.

Wednesday 3 July 2024