My role as Trustee at Victoria Baths
I joined the board of the Victoria Baths Trust in February 2020 and became Vice Chair in 2023. I am also a Director of the Victoria Baths Trading Company.
I previously served as Director on the board of the Fire Industry Association during my corporate career, where I gained invaluable experience of board governance.
My role with Victoria Baths is to provide governance to the staff who are employed to operate the Trust. I chair the Earned Income & Fundraising Committee that oversees the commercial activities on behalf of the Trust. This includes developing new strategies to boost income, increase profitability for existing events, identify new commercial relationships and sponsorships and create new event concepts.
I also sit on the Creative & Community Committee alongside a talented group of experts in culture, creative health, volunteer management and the arts.
Victoria Baths today
Victoria Baths is a well-loved Manchester landmark. It is an Edwardian former swimming baths famed for its remarkable tiling and stained glass and for the story it tells of Manchester’s social history.
It was closed as a swimming pool in 1993 and following a public campaign (“don’t mess with the swimming mums”) the buildings were saved. It now operates under the Trust as a unique events venue and base for community activities.
Victoria Baths today hosts weddings, choirs, theatrical productions, and conferences and events such as The Vintage Home Show, The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair and Manchester Tech Festival.
It is a popular filming location for Brassic, Peaky Blinders and more.
As a Grade 2* listed building on the Heritage At Risk register, Victoria Baths requires significant further investment for capital works to fulfil its potential as a year-round hub for culture, community and wellbeing.
Volunteering at
Victoria Baths
As well as my responsibilities as a Trustee, volunteering can mean pitching in with the Big Clean, writing newsletters, recruiting new staff and helping out at events.
Volunteering provides purpose, it’s fun and a fantastic way of gaining new skills at the same time as giving back to the community.
Victoria Baths won a Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2019, “Working with passion to preserve and restore the remarkable Edwardian Grade II* listed Victoria Baths in Manchester.” I’m proud to follow in the footsteps of these amazing volunteers who saved the buildings.
If you’re interested in volunteering at Victoria Baths, let me know!
