Bulwell Swimming Pool aka Bulwell Lido

This open-air pool was one of two pools opened on the same day in the Nottingham area. The other was the Sherwood and Carrington Swimming Pool. The website contains an article detailing both pools.

Both pools were opened on 29^th July 1937.

The pool had an illuminated aerator at one end of the pool and large café with veranda and shingle sunbathing surrounds. It also had a 50’ x 50’ separate children’s pool.

Nottingham City Council approved both baths following a report by the Public Baths and Wash-houses Committee and borrowed a total of just of £39,000 to build them. This did not include the costs of the land.

There is no doubt, said the report, that there is a popular demand for open-air bathing facilities, and the open-air bath has many advantages over the covered type in economy of construction and maintenance. Another point in favour of open-air baths, according to the report, is that they cater for the bather, the sun-bather, and the spectator, whereas the covered bath caters for bathers only.

The city engineer and surveyor prepared the plans which incorporated all the latest developments in public baths construction.

The pool attracted ‘Torpedo’ Tom Blower, a world famous swimmer from the area who would train there regularly.

Bulwell was the last of a number of lidos in Nottingham to close and it lasted until 2003. Despite protests it was closed to make way for housing, imaginatively named Lido Close.

Baths and Baths Engineering October 1935

Bulwell Swimming Pools.

The Bulwell site is situate on the main road to Hucknall and will serve the whole of the population of Bulwell. There are five schools within walking distance of the site.

The establishment proposed to be erected on this site consists of two pools, one main pool 170 ft. by 70 ft. and a small children’s pool 50 ft. by 50 ft. The water in the large pool is 3 ft. deep at the two ends and 8 ft. deep in the centre. The water in the children’s pool graduates from 1 in. deep at the shallow end to 2 ft. 6 in. at the deep end. The buildings surrounding the northern end of the pool contain dressing accommodation consisting of 120 cubicles, 60 being for males and 60 for females, approached from the locker rooms. Each locker room is fitted with racks containing 294 baskets for bathers’ clothes. In addition, two large dressing rooms are provided, one for boys and the other for girls, each fitted with clothes racks.

A cafe with kitchen attached is also provided with glazed veranda along the front 70 ft. long, for spectators, and shelters 7 ft. wide are formed along the fronts of the dressing rooms each 125 ft. long.

A bed of shingle, 80 ft. by 50 ft., is arranged for sun bathers near the large pool, and wide promenades are formed around the pools with flower beds inset. The entrance to the site is on Hucknall-lane, and the offices and store will be erected together with the turnstiles and a car park and cycle sheds.

A filtration and sterilisation plant is to be provided capable of passing the whole of the water in the pools (380,000 gal.) through the filters every four hours.

The committee have invited tenders in connection with this scheme, and they have provisionally accepted the lowest tender at the sum of £16,165. The total estimated cost of the scheme, exclusive of the site, is £19,321. The finance committee approved the report. If the term for repayment of the proposed loans are fixed by the Ministry of  Health at 30 years in respect of the building and 15 years in respect of the plant, the  approximate annual charge for sinking funds and interest will be £2,590 during the first  15 years, £2,047 during the next 15 years, and £138 in respect of the sites which are  being transferred from other committees.

Baths and Bath Engineering October 1937

Nottingham’s New Swimming Pools.

Corporation Establishments in the Bulwell District and Carrington and Sherwood Districts.

The Nottingham Corporation have provided two open-air swimming establishments at a cost of £39,051 (excluding land), one will serve the Bulwell district and the other the Carrington, Sherwood, and Mapperley areas.

Bulwell Establishment

The swimming pool is 165 it. long by 70 ft. wide, the water being 3 ft. deep at the ends increasing to a depth of 6 ft. on one side and to 8 ft. 6 in. on the other side. Flights of steps have been formed practically the full width of the pool at one end. The water content is 350,000 gal. An electrically illuminated cascade is provided.

The pool is equipped with underwater floodlighting, a three-tier diving stage 5 m. high, one water chute for adults and two for children, and two running boards.

There is also a children’s pool, 50 ft. square, and the water in this graduates from 1 in. to 2 ft. deep, with a water capacity of 30,000 gal.

The pools are constructed of reinforced concrete lined with blue ” Cullamix ” cement veneer. For sunbathing purposes two wood decks are provided near the swimming pool. Wide promenades with flower beds inset surround the pools.

Around the northern side of the large pool are the administrative buildings constructed of light-coloured bricks and tiled roofs. At the entrance is the office and store. The dressing accommodation consists of 120 cubicles (60 for each sex), approached from locker rooms. Each locker room is fitted with racks containing 294 baskets for bathers’ clothes. In addition, there are two large dressing rooms, one for girls and the other for boys. each fitted with clothes racks. Showers and footbaths are installed, and the necessary conveniences are placed in suitable positions.

A cafe with kitchen attached is also provided, and shelters, 7 ft. wide, are formed along the front of the dressing rooms. The cafe has a glazed verandah along the front, 70 ft. in length.

A car park and cycle sheds are other amenities.

Carrington and Sherwood Pool.

With the exception of the following, the facilities at this establishment are practically identical with those at Bulwell. There is no children’s pool, there are two cascades, one at each end of the pool, also flights of steps practically the full width of pool at each end, one sun-bathing deck. 100 dressing cubicles (50 for each sex) and 252 baskets in each locker room, large lounge in front of the cafe and roof terrace over the offices for spectators.

Purification and Heating Plants.

The purification plants at both establishments were installed by the Turn-Over Filter Co., Ltd., of Belfast. Each plant consists of two 7 ft. diameter by 17 ft. 6 in. long patent “Uneek” filters, capable of dealing with the whole contents of the pool at a rate of  100,000 gal. of water per hour, duplicate centrifugal pumping sets (electrically driven),  chemical treatment plant comprising an up-to-date type of closed pressure venturi  controlled apparatus, closed pressure aerator, and a Wallace and Tiernan chloramine sterilisation apparatus.

The cycle of operation is as follows: –

Water is drawn from the deep end of the pool by the centrifugal pumps, and after receiving primary treatment, the water is delivered to the two pressure filters for clarifying the water before discharging through the closed pressure aerator to the swimming pool. The chloramine plant comes into operation after filtration.

It is interesting to note that the “Uneek” filters can be washed in a very short space of time by a small quantity of water. The principle of washing the filtering medium is by the complete ejection of it through the special sand tubes back into vacant filter compartments. The Turn-Over Co. claim that every particle of the bed is thoroughly cleansed of all impurities at each operation and that there is absolutely no loss of filtering material either when washing or when filtering.

For heating the water in the swimming pools “Vesta” gas fired boilers (manufactured by Autocontrol Boilers. Ltd., of London) have been installed by the Nottingham Gas Department. In the case of Bulwell, the plant consists of one C8 and one C2 boilers, having a combined output of 2,000,000 B.th.u. per hour. In the case of Sherwood and Carrington single C4 boiler is provided having an output of 1,500,000 B.th.u. per hour. In addition to these boilers a B1 “Vesta” boiler (250,000 B.th.u. per hour) is included in each plant for supplying heat to the dressing rooms through an accelerated low pressure hot water system.

General.

The designs of the two establishments have been prepared and the schemes carried out under the direction of the city engineer and surveyor. Mr. R M. Finch. Assoc.M.Inst.C.E.

Messrs. Harper and Green, of Carlton, Notts. were the contractors for both schemes and the following were among the principal sub-contractors: –

• Steel cubicles-Potter Rax Co. Ltd., London.
• Diving stages, water chutes. etc – London and Midland Steel Scaffolding Co. Ltd. Manchester.
• Steel reinforcement – British Reinforced Concrete Engineering Co., Ltd., Stafford
• Henting – Thomas Danks and Co. Ltd., Nottingham.
• Underwater lighting – The General Electric Co., Ltd., London.
• Gates and fencing – Goodacre. (Hover and Butler, Ltd., Nottingham.
• Turnstiles – LeGrand, Sutcliff and Gell, Ltd., Southall, London.

The Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Coun. E. Purser opened the Bulwell pool on July 29 and on the same day Ald. A. Pollard, J.P., chairman of the public baths and wash-houses committee opened the Sherwood and Carrington pool.

Mr. F. Fletcher, M.N.A.B.S., is the baths superintendent.

1940 (approx)

1999

2004