1. The History
Located in the Attercliffe district of Sheffield, City Sauna was run by a mother and daughter combination. After a number of name changes, they finally settled on City Sauna. Given the legal status of brothels in the UK, it was run under the guise of it being a massage parlour (prostitution is legal, but it is illegal to operate brothels). Situated in the city's red-light district in a former industrial area, here property was cheap and there the a lack of residential properties meant it was tolerated.
The brothel shot to fame in 2015 when it was the focus of a Channel 4 documentary entitled 'A Very British Brothel' and then again four years later, in the ITV documentary, called 'A Very Yorkshire Brothel', in 2019.
The two documentaries introduced viewers to the sauna’s working girls, its punters, some of whom smothered themselves in custard and dressed themselves in nappies and other punters who wanted “food play” (or sploshing). South Yorkshire Police carried out multiple visits and inspections while the brothel was operating but no charges were ever pressed and City Sauna still operates at its new location, further down the road, which it moved into in 2019, shortly after the showing of the second documentary.
It wasn’t always a brothel though. The building began life as a pub, The Norfolk Arms, which opened its doors in 1830 amid the Industrial Revolution. Here workers from the surrounding factories, foundries and steel works could be found having a crafty lunchtime beer and a post-work drink. However, with the decline in the steel industry the then Tetley’s house closed in the mid-1980s before finding its new usage.
The pub circa 1970:
2. The Explore
Not my first choice of explores it has to be said, but it was local and doable so popped in for a quick mooch. What to say? It’s an ex-pub that became an infamous brothel. Architecturally, it is pretty underwhelming with the events that went on within it, as documented by the two high-profile TV shows, overshadowing the building itself.
Despite only being closed for just over a couple of years, it’s pretty trashed now. There’s little evidence that it was a pub and a lot of evidence of its subsequent use. So not much else to say, so on with the pictures.
3. The Pictures
Only took one external!
The reception room downstairs is the most photogenic:
The adjoining room has at least got its original fireplace:
The first floor is the main business part of the operation, including a sauna!
And a number of individual rooms:
And a “naughty boys” room!
The top floor has space for the workers:
And a “props” room:
And more “classic” wallpaper:
OK, that's yer lot!
Located in the Attercliffe district of Sheffield, City Sauna was run by a mother and daughter combination. After a number of name changes, they finally settled on City Sauna. Given the legal status of brothels in the UK, it was run under the guise of it being a massage parlour (prostitution is legal, but it is illegal to operate brothels). Situated in the city's red-light district in a former industrial area, here property was cheap and there the a lack of residential properties meant it was tolerated.
The brothel shot to fame in 2015 when it was the focus of a Channel 4 documentary entitled 'A Very British Brothel' and then again four years later, in the ITV documentary, called 'A Very Yorkshire Brothel', in 2019.
The two documentaries introduced viewers to the sauna’s working girls, its punters, some of whom smothered themselves in custard and dressed themselves in nappies and other punters who wanted “food play” (or sploshing). South Yorkshire Police carried out multiple visits and inspections while the brothel was operating but no charges were ever pressed and City Sauna still operates at its new location, further down the road, which it moved into in 2019, shortly after the showing of the second documentary.
It wasn’t always a brothel though. The building began life as a pub, The Norfolk Arms, which opened its doors in 1830 amid the Industrial Revolution. Here workers from the surrounding factories, foundries and steel works could be found having a crafty lunchtime beer and a post-work drink. However, with the decline in the steel industry the then Tetley’s house closed in the mid-1980s before finding its new usage.
The pub circa 1970:
2. The Explore
Not my first choice of explores it has to be said, but it was local and doable so popped in for a quick mooch. What to say? It’s an ex-pub that became an infamous brothel. Architecturally, it is pretty underwhelming with the events that went on within it, as documented by the two high-profile TV shows, overshadowing the building itself.
Despite only being closed for just over a couple of years, it’s pretty trashed now. There’s little evidence that it was a pub and a lot of evidence of its subsequent use. So not much else to say, so on with the pictures.
3. The Pictures
Only took one external!
The reception room downstairs is the most photogenic:
The adjoining room has at least got its original fireplace:
The first floor is the main business part of the operation, including a sauna!
And a number of individual rooms:
And a “naughty boys” room!
The top floor has space for the workers:
And a “props” room:
And more “classic” wallpaper:
OK, that's yer lot!
Last edited:
lol
