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 Dunblane
Hydropathic Establishment, which cost £60,000 to build
using yellow freestone from Dunmore, Polmaise and Plean quarries,
was opened in September 1878. It was designed by Peddie and
Kinnear, a prolific architectural practice which carried out
commissions for buildings throughout Scotland and was responsible
for the building of the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh.
The medicinal value of water from a spring discovered in Dunblane
had been recognised early in the 19th century. A report by
Dr John Murray exploited the fame of this spring to such an
extent that ‘a rush of inflicted humanity inundated
the Cathedral City to undergo a course of treatment’.
In 1828 a hut was erected on the northeast side of the Laighills
for those who came to Dunblane to drink or bathe in the waters.
The Hydro was planned to capitalise on this interest and to
exploit the potential of the growing fame of the spring water,
which was then brought to the Hydro by cart to a special room
in the lodge. There were two sets of baths, one for ladies
and one for gentlemen, which contained all the latest appliances
for hydro-therapeutical purposes. The Turkish baths were fitted
with marble benches and the walls were lined with enamel.
As well as the Turkish baths, there were Russian, vapour,
plunge, wave, ascending and descending, electric and electro-magnetic
baths with douche and spray, needle sprays, and sitz baths.
 At
the time of the opening of the Dunblane Hydro, such establishments
had become fashionable throughout Europe with thousands of
patients treated annually for weeks at a time in large purpose-built
buildings with lavish facilities – baths, recreation
halls and the like - under the supervision of fully trained
and qualified medical practitioners and staff. When the hydropathic
movement reached its peak, there were over fifty hydropathic
establishments in Britain, twenty of which were in Scotland.
The drawing room was where the Balmoral Restaurant is now,
while the dining room was at the other end of the main corridor.
The kitchen and scullery were in an upper flat and the food
was lowered by a service lift to the main floor. The physician’s
consulting rooms and the parlours led off from the main corridor
and there was a large recreation hall with a glass roof which
had ample room for indoor activities, including lectures and
readings. There were 150 bedrooms and about 40 guests came
to drink the water every day and receive other hydropathic
treatments which were believed to cure rheumatism, alcohol-related
diseases, depression and other illnesses.
Expectations of the success of this new venture were not
realised and the original Dunblane Hydropathic Company lasted
only a few years, the hotel changing hands for a mere £18,000.
Dr Clark, who had been appointed as the first resident physician,
left after only one year and later became a radical Member
of Parliament for the Crofters Party, the first British independent
common people’s political party. In the succeeding years
many hydropathic establishments underwent major changes and
by the end of this period the hydropathics were serving two
different sectors – medicine and tourism. The Dunblane
Hydro survived these changes in the ensuing years and remains
proud of its heritage and continues to provide the same hospitality
experienced by visitors throughout the years.
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