The original baths at this location were hot salt water baths and the area was known as the Clifton Baths Estate. They were constructed between 1824-28 by John Boys at a cost of £15,000 and were excavated from the chalk cliff northeast of the harbour.
A large dome provided storage for 20 to 30 bathing machines which were brought down a curving tunnel to sea level when required. A tunnel also led to the Lower Reservoir used as a plunge bath for women and children. A horse pump forced sea water from the Lower Reservoir to the Upper Reservoir where it supplied the water for the hot baths, the power supplied by a horse gin in the open air.
In 1919, the site was leased by John Henry Iles, who had already built Britain’s first roller coaster at Blackpool in 1906. He added new baths, a cafe and restaurant, cinema and concert hall to the complex but ran into difficulties when he wanted to add an outdoor pool. The local council was against the proposal as they felt it would not be in keeping with Margate’s image of genteel seaside. The pool eventually got the go ahead and opened in 1927, with the council taking credit for the fact that it had not cost the ratepayer a penny.
The pool hosted the usual range of diving displays and beauty competitions. In 1935 a scheme of modernisation took place, detailed within a Baths & Bath Engineering article from July of that year.
Clifton Lido wasn’t just an outdoor pool; there were many small bars, cafes and restaurants and a myriad of entertainment options. In 1937, two other outdoor venues were added to Margate, the Walpole Bay Pool (closed 1957) and Marine Terrace (closed 1990). These were both more traditional sea pools than lidos, without the range of facilities. Walpole Bay since re-opened and 2023 saw plans for regeneration proposed. Marine Terrace remains as a pool with its buildings demolished and it was listed in 2024.
It seems the residents and visitors of Margate were spoilt for choice and maybe Clifton would have survived without so much competition.
The pool suffered storm damage in 1953 but was repaired. It closed in 1977 and was filled with sand. Other parts of the entertainment complex remained open until the early 2000’s after which the site was left derelict.
The Clifton Baths subterranean complex was listed in 2008 due to their importance in British seaside history – they were one of the earliest surviving sea bathing establishments in the country.
In 2018, a feasibility report carried out by Lee Evans Architecture proposed the site could be redeveloped, with ideas including a 100-bed boutique spa hotel and 90 one- and two-bedroom apartments built into the cliffside. In July 2025, two plots of land at the Cliftonville Lido complex in Margate, which also encompasses the Grade II listed Clifton Baths, were put up for sale.
| Name | Clifton Baths aka Cliftonville Lido aka Cliftonville Seawater Bathing Pool Ethelbert Terrace, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent, CT9 1RX |
| Built / opened | 1924 – Clifton Baths 1927 – addition of semi circular lido |
| Cost | £60,000 including surrounding buildings |
| Dimensions | 1927 – 250′ x 150′ |
| Capacity | |
| Water type | Sea water, filled daily via a culvert 500 yards out to sea and four sluice gates |
| Depth | 2′ to 9′ |
| Diving | Diving stage at furthers point from the shore |
| Changing facilities | Originally multiple cubicles 1935 – Cubicles reduced to 200 and 2,000 individual lockers installed |
| Second pool | N/A |
| Spectator seating | Terraced seating for “thousands” |
| Designer | |
| Date closed | 1981 |
| Status | Closed, derelict |
| On site now | The derelict pool |
| Links | Cliftonville Lido – What’s Left? Part of Margate’s historic seafront Lido has collapsed Thanet Council Lido Feasibility Study Feb 2018 |
| Last updated | 24th July 2025 |
The photograph of the left is from the below article pubished in 1935. The photo on the right was taken by a member of the Thanet Hidden History Facebook group. I have posted asking for permission to use the image but have not had a reply. If this is your photograph and you would like me to remove it, please contact me via Facebook or Instagram and I will do so.
Baths and Bath Engineering, July 1935
CLIFTONVILLE SEAWATER BATHING POOL
The Clifton Baths Estate, Margate, (By a Special Representative)
The Clifton Baths Estate at Margate represents a truly remarkable achievement in catering for the enjoyment of seaside holidaymakers. No effort or expense has been spared in order to introduce the latest ideas and equipment, and the variety of high-class diversions enables visitors to spend whole days on the estate without a dull moment.
The chief attraction on the estate is, of course, the seawater bathing pool. This is built actually in the sea and was one of the first pools in this country to be so constructed. It is semi-circular in shape and is sufficiently large to accommodate over 2,000 bathers without over-crowding. Excellent diving apparatus is installed, and, in addition, all the latest devices for providing aquatic amusement are available. For the use of these no additional charges whatsoever are made.
The water for the pool is brought through a culvert which has its source 500 ft. out at sea. This enables a constant supply of clean water to be obtained regardless of the. state of the tides and assures that at all times the water is clean and safe for bathers.
The dressing accommodation attached to the pool is most up to date. Constructors’ locker system being employed. This system was tested in a section of the dressing rooms last season and was found so satisfactory that the entire accommodation has now been converted. Altogether, approximately 2,000 locker compartments have been installed, and 300 of the original cubicles have been retained. The employment of this system provides each bather with his own locker. compartment and, in addition to relieving the work of attendants, enables a steady flow of bathers to pass through the turnstiles, so avoiding the risks of either queues or time limits.
As bathers enter the central bathing hall, they are issued with rubber wrist bands upon which are marked the locker number and corridor letter. This enables the bather to go direct to his locker without waiting. Hired towels and costumes are issued from the same counter, while other recesses provide a buffet and safe deposit for valuables. The wrist band is given up by the bather on passing the exit control.
In the design of these lockers every attention has been given to the question of hygiene, and they are so arranged that, after having been flushed out with a hose, the water drains completely away. They are of galvanised steel construction and white enamelled, and are fitted with coat hooks, trinket bowls, stainless steel mirrors, and ashtrays. A wood seat runs along the entire length of each nest of lockers, under which shoe rails are provided. The installation was carried out by Constructors, Ltd., Birmingham, who are the manufacturers of this equipment.
Foot washing sprays are fitted at the exit from the dressing rooms to the pool. In addition, a large plunge bath is provided in both ladies’ and gentlemen’s dressing rooms, and foot baths and showers are also fitted.
All costumes and towels which are the property of the estate are sterilised and washed in an up-to-date laundry attached to the pool.
One of the chief features at the Cliftonville Swimming Pool is the series of water attractions and competitions which are arranged throughout the season. These are believed to be the finest in the country. A popular feature is the moonlight bathing. After dark, the pool is floodlit, and a searchlight throws a varying-coloured beam over the bathers. This is really a brilliant spectacle and has an immense draw. Other attractions take the form of novelty competitions, and a great amount of time is spent in thinking out new ideas.
Accommodation is provided for many more on a series of terraces cut in the cliff, at the bottom of which the pool is situated. On each of these is a licensed cafe, giving an outlook on to the pool. Six different cafes provide seating accommodation for 3,000 people.
Great care has been exercised in the decoration of the cafes. Each is carried out in a different scheme, the designs for which were prepared by French architects. Perhaps the most remarkable one is the Cafe Basque, in which the rustic treatment of massive wood and stone arches, with tantalising glimpses of hills and trees through the little windows, is taken from the Basque country in the Pyrenees.
There are six orchestras which play continuously throughout the day at various points, and the music is transmitted to the pool by loud-speaker reproduction.
On the cliff top, above the pool, there is a covered swimming bath, hot, sea and freshwater slipper baths, medical baths, a large concert hall, and a bandstand terrace.
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