13 amazing pictures reveal secret Turkish Baths at Blackpool Imperial Hotel and their rediscovered Burmantofts tiles

For the Imperial Hotel and Blackpool Civic Trust, unearthing Turkish Baths which have been boarded up for half a century has been one of their proudest moments.

The once lavish spa is tucked away in the basement of the hotel, plastered over in the 1950s as tourism boomed and space was needed for expansion. But now, thanks to years of painstaking work by volunteers at Blackpool Civic Trust, they have been restored to how they used to be, proudly revealing the stunning Burmantoft tiled walls and mosaic flooring once more. They were originally installed in 1898 with sea water pumped to the long gone water tower behind the hotel before being turned into steam to fill the spa. Paul Humble, who led the volunteers said out of all the restoration projects he has been involved in, this was the most rewarding. Take a look at what they have found…