Bourne Outdoor Swimming Pool

Bourne Outdoor Swimming Pool is built on the site of the abbey fish pond that had been in place for hundreds of years.

The pond was first designated as a swimming pool in 1919 but work to formalise the structure was not completed until 1922.

The work of converting it from the old monks’ pond was carried out by Mr T Hinson under the direction of a local committee comprising Mr T W Mays (president) and the plans were drawn up by Mr R G Coles, surveyor to Bourne Urban District Council. The work consisted of adding corrugated iron panels to the sides and a partial concreting of the bottom of the pool. An official opening by Lady Kesteven was held on Saturday 12th August 1922.

In 1932 Bourne United Charities took over the Monks Garden and Abbey Lawns and began to modernise the pool. The bath was sized to 154 feet long and 50 feet wide and lined with reinforced concrete. The depth varied from 2’ 9” to 7’ 3”. A diving platform at 14’ and two springboards were installed and the pool surround was paved.

The following year saw new changing room buildings on Abbey Lawn in two blocks. The total cost of the improvement works was £1,242 10s. 3d.

The pool was fed from the Bourne Eau and filtered through a coke bed. It was unique as the bath was both filled and emptied by the gravity meaning a pump was not required. The water flowed out through a dyke, passed under the Bourne Eau, and rejoined it further downstream.

In 1966 new indoor changing rooms were built and the slabbed area poolside was extended. Its first heating system was installed by 1971, funded by Bourne Round Table.

The pool came under threat in 1989 with local campaigns launched to save it. A protest march took place throughout the town as well as a petition with 4,000 signatures to save it from closure. This culminated in a trust being formed in 1990 and the site was leased from Bourne United Charities.

The trust has carried out improvements over time and the pool remains a treasure in the community.