Take the plunge and indulge yourself in the Turkish bath experience writes Peter Gruner

FROM mothers and secretaries, to taxi drivers and judges, it’s a haven from the grimy inner city – a place to gossip, argue and sweat over the issues of the day.
Wrapped up in a towel, naked or semi-naked, everyone is equal at Ironmonger Row Baths, Old Street, where on a good day the level of political debate is better than anything they turn out in Parliament.
While dozens of the capital’s popular municipal baths closed in the 1970s, Islington’s Ironmonger Row has stood the test of time for almost a century, defying change, modernisation and the bulldozer.
It is one of the few places left in London where the name Turkish bath and sauna does not break the Trade Descriptions Act. Where the steam and sauna experience at many establishments these days has been reduced to a few wooden cabins and a cold or tepid shower, Ironmonger Row Bath boasts the works.
There’s a choice of three saunas, each with varying temperatures, a steam room that doesn’t switch on and off but remains hot and steamy, and of course, most importantly, a proper ice-cold plunge pool, for those hardy enough, that provides the necessary invigoration. One suspects that Islington Council would not dare close Ironmonger Row without upsetting half of Clerkenwell and the City.
Historically, Turkish baths – despite their name – were originally created by the Romans.
While they disappeared in England when the Roman Empire fell, they were kept alive in the Islamic world.
Ironmonger Row is an excellent reminder of how we used to relax. By the second half of the 14th-century London was full of Turkish baths – better known as ‘stews’. But public uproar against percieved immorality and a fear of the plague caused them to shut down, one by one.
By the 17th century they began to gain popularity again, and in Victorian times they got the support of doctors, who were staunch advocates of the steam bath.
In the 20th century, before private bathrooms became the norm, local authorities provided bathhouses and Ironmonger Row Baths was built in 1931. Some say that little has changed since that date (apart from – thankfully – the towels and water).
Choose your day of visit according to your gender (although on Mondays there are mixed sessions).
When inside, you can immediately see where the entry price is being spent. A large, dimly lit, dorm-like room greets you.
This is where you can get changed, and also where you return to relax in one of the many beds after your steam.
When undressed, you can choose from a variety of rooms at a variety of (hot) temperatures. Those in the know recommend steam first, then sauna – with an icy plunge in between.
The sauna itself has several levels. Clearly the hotter and the sweatier one gets, the more toxins are purged.
Once inside, don’t be alarmed to hear loud shrieks as people dunk themselves in the icy plunge pool.
At the baths you can have a complete rub down and scrub or, if you’re feeling more indulgent, choose from a variety of different massages on offer (these must be booked in advance).
Once you’ve sweated enough, retire once more to the relaxing bedchamber and take half an hour to rest and recuperate with a book or a magazine before you venture outside. It is a perfect tonic at the end of a stressful week.

• Call Ironmonger Row Baths on 020 7253 4011. The morning cost is £6.70 (Izz card £5.70); after 12pm and weekends £11.50 (Izz card £9.30). The opening hours are mixed Mondays 2pm-9.30pm; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for men; Wednesday, Friday, Sunday for women.