No one who tuned in to the primetime documentary in August 2015 could have expected the full list of services they would see at Sheffield’s former City Sauna on the corner of Warren Street.
The all-access programme made City Sauna something of a household name, proudly displayed by mother and daughter duo Kath and Jenni.
In an eye-opening hour of telly, it shared how the sauna operated in a bit of a grey area where customers paid for an hour’s massage - and what actually went on once they were led upstairs was “none of the manager’s concern.”
The sauna’s sex workers shared all the intimate details of their day job, including (but certainly not limited to)
- ‘Nuru’: A body to body massage using huge amounts of massage lotion, described by one worker as ‘naked Twister with lube’
- ‘Sploshing’: Food play, including one man who loved having tins of custard poured over him while in a bathtub.
- Balloon bursting: How one man loved seeing women blow up balloons until they popped, or sitting in them so they burst.
- And, last but not least, one man’s enjoyment of nappies and wearing adult sized babygrows.
City Sauna relocated to another address on Attercliffe Road in 2019, and the former premises that starred in the documentary were demolished in late 2023.
To mark 10 years since the programme, these photos courtesy of urban explorer Lost Places & Forgotten Faces show what they found inside the brothel in June 2021, where paysheets were still pinned to walls and the occasional prophylactic were still lying around.
Lost Places & Forgotten Faces wrote about their experience on their official Facebook page: “Inside I found old sofas, beds, showers and a sauna, but the working girls had all gone. I quickly got an idea of what went on here, with old condoms in the showers, stained mattresses... You name it.
“One of the rooms had a very peculiar odour which must have been lingering for years. Sort of a mixture of urine and sweat. Not pleasant at all.”
Read more here: Nine pictures reveal former Sheffield massage parlour, famous for TV ‘brothel’ documentary
Read more here: New photos inside fire-damaged building made famous by Channel 4 show A Very British Brothel
Read more here: A Very Yorkshire Brothel massage parlour gives peek at new site, including 'puppy play'
1. Urban exploring at City Sauna
This it the former City Sauna on the corner of Warren Street and Attercliffe. It has since been demolished, but was briefly something of a household name after starring in the Channel 4 documentary - titled 'A Very British Brothel.' | Lost Places & Forgotten Faces
2. Inside the brothel seen across Britain
These photos by urban explorer 'Lost Places & Forgotten Faces' show the remains of the abandoned sauna two years before its demolition in late 2023. | Lost Places & Forgotten Faces
3. Ran by mother and daughter
City Sauna was run by mother-daughter duo Kath and Jenni on what C4 called "Sheffield's golden mile of sex." | Lost Places & Forgotten Faces
4. A bit of a legal grey area
'A Very British Brothel' aired 10 years ago in August 2015. It explained how the sauna operated in a bit of a grey area, in that customers paid for an hour's massage - and what went on once they were led upstairs was "none of the manager's concern." | Lost Places & Forgotten Faces