The history of “Dunck Sauna” a life affirming journey to spread the love of Sauna.
Dunck began his life as a Horse Sauna, he was found on EBay for a steal of a price and was located in a rather fancy stable yard for showjumping horses in Nottinghamshire. Despite the owners of the stables' investment into a German built recovery Sauna for its elite horses, the animals hadn’t taken to the idea very well and so it became a warm and handy hangout of the stable hands.
The design and rarity of such a thing was featured in Horse and Hounds magazine back when it had been installed some several years previously.
Our plans were to recycle the resources and put the Sauna onto a trailer so it would become portable. At the time the Horse box to Sauna conversions were being built with haste thanks to the original Warmth Sauna that was an Arts Council funded project that featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and then later at the Brighton version before morphing into the now famous Beach Box Sauna Spa.
Our Horse Sauna to trailer conversion is the only one we are aware of and this makes our story very unique and slightly amusing.
(Horse Sauna Horse Shoe)
Dunck was built during lockdowns and once the window of opportunity became open his first outing was to the rather picturesque Divers Cove in Godstone, Surrey. The bathers keen to get their sweat on came in droves and the weekend was a resounding success. Under a Halloween Full Moon magic moments were shared as well as tragic endings when Duncks name sake’s life, came to an untimely end. Duncan was a humorous, well intentioned man who had supported the creation of the project and so Dunck seemed a fitting name to the Sauna that would come to share itself with many thousands of bathers.
(Divers Cove, Godstone, Surrey)
Dunck had one final event in the calendar in 2020 and a visit to the picturesque, beauty spot of Warleigh Weir near to Bath was his second outing. The open water swimmers and house boat dwellers gave Dunck a warm reception for a weekend of communal fun just before the second lockdown began. Visitors came from as far as wales to get their sweat on in the popular location, located alongside the river Avon.
(Warleigh Weir, NR Bath, Somerset)
During the second lockdown Dunck was stationed in Glastonbury Town and frequented several locations there, including Bridies Mound, the sacred site dedicated to the patron saint of the keeper of Wells and the Sacred flame! Here the traveler hippies in the town filled him with adornments as they looked after him in their community for several months. He also had short stints at the Isle of Avalon campsite and Bob’s Field where he graced their campers' needs before his next adventure beckoned.
To the festival scene for excursions to Soul Circus in Gloucestershire where he worked alongside pioneers from the British Sauna Society, showcasing authentic Sauna culture in the UK followed shortly by the Armchair Adventure Festival in Mount Edgecombe in Cornwall. He was joined by Sarah of Seaside Sauna Haus in Dorset for that weekend where buckets of cold water were thrown over the revelers and hosts Matt and Reece relayed their encounters with their adventures into Banya bathhouse culture whilst traveling through Russia.
(Soul Circus Festival. Gloucestershire. With Thirteen 33 and British Sauna Society)
From Somerset to London with a long residency at Community Sauna Baths in Hackney Wick from Nov ‘21 to Feb ‘23, Dunck seeded the project here that created a huge impact not just in London but nationwide. Dunck has Sauned and Aufgussed his way through many bathers in his time at The Baths on Eastway and three Sauna stoves and several street art paint works later, is still going strong.
(the Baths, Hackney Wick, E9 with Lewis Jenkinson of The Cedar Sauna Company and Mikkel Aaland, Author of The Perfect Sweat)
(Community Sauna Baths, Hackney Wick)
In March ‘23 he had a three month rest and recuperation at the world famous New Docklands Steam Baths in Canning Town and is now settled into his new home in the Royal Victoria Dock. Here he has hosted several ceremonies using Sound and artistic expression and will work with artist Barry Sykes as he launches his “Sauna as Studio” residency with us at Sweheat.
(New Docklands Steam Baths, Canning Town, E16)
With potential other projects and sites on the horizon it looks like Duncks’ work is not over yet.
(Sweheat Sauna, Royal Victoria Dock, Western Beach, West Silver Town)
For the love of Sauna
Dedicated to Duncan Lowther, Dear Friend and Mentor June 1940 - Oct 2020