Brockwell Park Open Air Swimming Pool

One of London’s better-known outdoor pools having been features on TV programmes and had various attempts to revive it before finally being refurbished and now open again. The pool originally had diving boards at 5, 3 and 1m but these are gone. The total site was 2.25 acres before it was extended in 2007.

Baths and Bath Engineering, September 1937

Brockwell Park Open Air Swimming Pool

LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL’S NEW SCHEME

Provided by the London County Council, the new open-air swimming pool in Brockwell Park has an enclosure covering an area of about 2 and one quarter acres. The Mayor of Lambeth, Ald. E. A. Mills, J.P., opened the pool on July 10.

The main entrance for bathers is from the park, and they obtain access to the pool by way of the vestibule and pay office. A separate entrance for spectators is provided in the main road, giving direct access to the spectators’ terraces. A central corridor leads right and left directly to the cubicles and lockers, ladies being accommodated on one side and men on the other. Cubicles formed with jointless glazed walls, with self-opening flush doors, are provided, and the lockers are placed in sections along the centre and facing the cubicles. Provision has been made for 162 cubicles and 880 lockers, and two capacious dressing-rooms are available for parties of children.

Foot and shower baths are provided for use before entering and after leaving the swimming pool. Access to the pool itself can only be obtained through wading pools on each side of the office. Provision is made for issuing towels and bathing costumes.

Lined with glazed brickwork, the swimming pool is 165 ft. by 90 ft., the water being 2 ft, 6 in. deep at the shallow end and 9 ft. 6 in. at the outlet pipe at the deep end. The pool has a 5m diving board, 3 m fixed and springboards and 1 m fixed and springboards, as well as an ordinary spring diving board, and chutes for adults and children.

The surround to the pool is paved with green precast paving slabs.

Filtration Plant

A modern plant has been installed by United Filters and Engineering, Ltd., of London, for the filtration and sterilisation of the water in the swimming pool.

In addition to the usual large and ample sump situated at the bottom of the pool at the deepest point there is a new feature, this being a special scum trough (see Baths and Bath Engineering July 1936) which has been fitted along the whole width at the deep end. This scum trough is designed to cause the continuous withdrawal of the top water down to a depth of 12 in and is always in operation. It is connected by means of a manifold into the main suction pipe. The combined outlet waters are taken through a pipe fitted with the usual non-return valves and sluice valves to the filter-room, where the water passes through a large strainer box, after which the water is drawn by means of two Worthington-Simpson centrifugal pumping units which together can deal with the whole capacity of the pool, 600,000 gal. of water, in five hours. Each pump is direct coupled to an electric motor manufactured by Crompton Parkinson and developing 16 h.p. On the delivery line from these two pumps to the filters there is a Venturi tube which operates the shunt type chemical injection plant. After leaving the two large air-cleansed pressure filters (these are also fitted with automatic air cleansing), the water is treated with a small dose of chlorine, administered by means of a Wallace and Tiernan chlorinator and a small quantity of ammonia. Afterwards the water is returned to the pool, it being so arranged that a small quantity can be returned at the deep end beyond the sump. The remaining water is passed to the shallow end where it can be passed either over the ornamental cascade or, should it be desirable to by-pass the cascade, suitable by-pass pipes have been fitted.

The wading pools are connected to the filtration system so that the water in these is also filtered.

There is provided a suction sweeper for removing any sediment or solid matter from the bottom of the pool, and two connections are fitted in the sidewalks of the pool to which the suction sweeper can be connected.

A testing set is provided for testing the pH value of water, the chlorine content and to take a check on the absence of nitrates.

General

The other buildings for service purposes consist of ambulance and committee room. staff mess room, and stores.

Two terraced areas are provided for spectators.

On one side of the pool there is a cafe 50 ft. by 20 ft., with servery, kitchen, etc. This is so planned as to be available for the general public using the terraces, as well as for bathers.

The plans were prepared by the Chief Officer of the London County Council Parks Department, under whose supervision the whole of the work has been carried out.

The total cost is approximately €26,000, almost the whole of which has been found by the Lambeth Metropolitan Borough Council. The general contractors were G. Percy Trentham, Ltd., of London, and among the sub-contractors were : Glazed brickwork-Leeds Fireclay Co., Ltd.: synthetic stone-Girlings Stone Co.; reinforcing fabric-British Reinforced Concrete Engineering Co., Ltd.: steel roof decking Ruberoid Co., Ltd.; lockers-Milners Safe Co : diving stage, chutes, etc.-Chas. Wicksteed and Co. (1920), Ltd. ; turnstiles-Sir W. H. Bailey and Co., Ltd.

[ACKNOWLEDGMENT. -We are indebted to Municipal Engineering, Sanitary Record and Municipal Motor for the loan of the illustration.]