WITH its stained glass windows and authentic period features, Victoria Baths is one of the most stunning examples of Manchester's architectural heritage.

A quick tour around the grade II listed building in Hathersage Road, Longsight, reveals a host of hidden treasures dating back to the opening of the public pool in 1906. They range from intricate floor mosaics and wrought iron gates to beautiful tiling. Even the ticket office remains intact and the original changing rooms are still in place, lined up at the side of the pool.

Yet years of neglect have left the baths in a chronic state of structural disrepair with millions of pounds needed to restore it to its former glory. And while members of the Victoria Baths Trust have campaigned for years to save what they lovingly refer to as "Manchester's Water Palace," all their appeals for lottery cash have been rejected and the windows remain boarded up.
Now the building is to star in a Pop Idol-style TV vote as a new BBC programme, Restoration, highlights 30 endangered historical buildings from around the country and asks viewers to decide which one should be restored.

Marianne Suhr, a chartered building surveyor, will be presenting the BBC show alongside architect Ptolemy Dean and comedy star Griff Rhys Jones who campaigns to save old buildings. After inspecting Victoria Baths she thinks the building can be brought back to life - with major repair work.

Marianne, a specialist in historic building repair and part-time education officer for the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), also leads workshops for homeowners on the best way to maintain or repair old houses.

She says the problems facing Victoria Baths, such as dampness, are the same as those found in many family homes and has the same advice for homeowners as for the owners of the baths.

"At Victoria Baths, neglect and lack of maintenance has been the main problem," she says.

"Water has been getting in through the roof for many years and as a lot of the structure is made of cast iron it has corroded the metal, causing expansion and cracking to the tiles in the interior.

"It is now a major exercise to repair it. If it had been properly maintained and the roof had been in order and the gutters cleared regularly there wouldn't be the same problem.

"It's certainly something that could be repaired. However, it's a long and expensive project and if ever there was a case for maintaining a building it's this one. As with people's homes, the emphasis is on gentle repair not replacement."Marianne has been astounded by the number of people who would prefer to get rid old architectural features from their home rather than repair them. Indeed, she says repairing a home can often be cheaper than paying for replacements.

But the best way to care for your home - whether it be old or young - is to keep up the day-to-day maintenance. "For instance, if you have a lovely old sash window with lovely glass in it we would recommend you to replace just the rotten parts of the timber such as the sill rather than the whole thing," says Marianne.

"It's about trying to preserve as much historic fabric as possible. I'm astonished to see that if people have got a hole in their old plaster ceiling, rather than just repair the hole they take the whole thing down and replace it with plaster board.

"It is usually much cheaper to repair in the correct way than to replace. I think the most important thing is to have knowledge."

As for the most common problem with old buildings, rising damp, Marianne says a damp-proof course is rarely the answer and can sometimes make a situation worse. And that woodworm in the attic? Well, that could be 200 years old and might not need a chemical treatment at all.

To be on the safe side, she advises anyone carrying out major work on an old property to take specialist impartial advice first.

Restoration will be shown on BBC from August 8. For more information on repairing and maintaining old buildings and details of Marianne's next homeowners' repair course at Cromford Mill in Derbsyhire, go to www.spab.org.uk Tweet