A fairly unremarkable London lido with a spectacular children’s pool of almost the same dimensions. It was the first heated swimming pool in London but it never got above tepid temperatures.
Finchley Lido was on a huge site that allowed for extensive buildings, lawns and pebble beaches for spectators. It was approached down a short avenue, leading to a tile-roofed neo-Georgian entrance block. On the poolside there were an elegant colonnade of Roman Doric columns, with fountains to either side.
The pool opened a year before its official ceremony and then the then Duke of York (after, King George VI) unveiled a plaque that is ignominiously sited behind the counter and the Nandos restaurant that occupied the repurposed main building.
During WWII, the heating system was decommissioned.
The pool, alongside the Empire Pool in Wenbley, was used in the 1948 Olympic Games for men’s water polo.
On 11 July 1971, the Lido had 11,962 visitors, which remains the record highest attendance in one day for a UK lido.
The pool was the first in the UK to offer gay nudist swimming sessions.
Apparently, the council invested money in reducing the depth of the pool shortly before they closed it.
Strictly speaking, there is still an outdoor pool on part of the site where previously there were lawns and I should probably add that as a separate listing.
| Name | Finchley Lido High Road, North Finchley, LB Barnet, N12 0GL, England |
| Built / opened | 17th September 1931 – pool opens for business 26th March 1932 – Formal opening ceremony 22nd April 1932 – Duke of York (later King George VI) unveiled wall tablet 12th July 1934 – Children’s pool opened by Sir Charles Henry Collett, Lord Mayor of London |
| Cost | Original works 1932 – £23,000 Extension 1933 – £4,400 Children’s pool, 1934 – £7,100 Total – £34,500 |
| Dimensions | 165′ x 80′ |
| Capacity | 456,250 gallons |
| Water type | Fresh water |
| Depth(s) | 3′ 3″ to 9′ with 10′ diving zone 20′ from the wall |
| Diving boards | Two-stage platform |
| Changing facilities | 240 cubicles, 720 lockers. Communal dressing room for men with 97 lockers. Curved arcade separating pools housed changing rooms for children. |
| Second pool | Children’s pool 165′ x 80′, elliptical, from zero to 3′ 6″. Contained 130,000 gallons. |
| Spectator seating | Lawns for non-swimmers. Shingle beaches for swimmers. Capacity for 1,000 sunbathers. |
| Designer | Percival T Harrison, Borough Architect |
| Date closed | 1992 |
| Status | Demolished 1994. Refer to separate entry for current Finchley pools. |
| On site now | Original buildings used for chain restaurants. Main and children’s pools are a car park. Finchley Leisure Centre with small outdoor pool on old lawns. |
| Last updated | 8th July 2025 |
Baths and Bath Engineering, June 1934
Mr. P. T. Harrison, the borough engineer of Finchley, Middlesex, has furnished me with information with regard to the heating plant installed at the Finchley open-air pool, which was opened in 1932, and which is 165 ft. by 80 ft., containing 450,000 gal. This heating plant consists of an oil-fired boiler with Urquharts burners and high-pressure calorifier. The capital cost and installation of this plant amounted to £4,537 and it is guaranteed to maintain the temperature of this large body of water at 65 deg., and has proved capable of doing this, and more. The season in this pool is from April 1 to September 30. Last year, the running cost of this heating plant was £295; the number of bathers was 309,454; the total income £7,593, and the expenditure £6,012, including loan redemption and interest (£2,004) and revenue expenditure of a capital nature amounting to £940. Thus, the excess of income over expenditure was £1,581.
Baths and Bath Engineering, August 1934
The new open-air bathing pool for children on the Great North-road was recently opened by the Lord Mayor of London. The children’s pool has been constructed adjoining the swimming pool, but at a lower level. The new pool is elliptical in shape, and has the same major dimensions as the main pool (which is 1G5 ft. by 80 ft.) with a capacity of 138,000 gal. The main pool, which was opened in March 1932, holds 456,250 gal. when full. The new pool is provided with paved areas. The pool is equipped with a purification plant as in the main pool, but, in addition, plant has been installed for the alternative purification of the water by the Rayzone method (a combination of ozone and ultra-violet rays).
Baths and Bath Engineering, November 1934
The Finchley Swimming Pools.
By PERCIVAL T. HARRISON, M.Inst.C.E., Borough Engineer and Surveyor. Finchley. (From a paper read at a Sessional Meeting of the Royal Sanitary Institute held in London, on 5th October, 1934.)
The use of the swimming pool is becoming a habit with an increasing number of people, and public demands and requirements have considerably extended since the passing of the first Baths and Washhouses Act in 1846. The Ministry of Health is usually willing to sanction the raising of the necessary loan for well-situated and properly designed pools and have in the case of Finchley allowed a repayment period of 30 years for the building, 20 years for the pool and lay-out, and 15 years for the machinery and plant.
In designing a swimming pool, a variety of points arise which require careful consideration, and these will be dealt with in the following notes.
The Site.
This is an important factor if the pool is to be well supported and is to maintain its popularity, the site should be near one or more main traffic routes and conveniently accessible to the public. An open situation such as a site in a park or open space has great advantages over one surrounded by buildings. Ample accommodation adjacent to the pool for cars and cycles is essential. The Finchley pools have a site area of four and a half acres. This area is part of a public open space of about 90 acres which has been laid out as a sports stadium.
The Dimensions of the Swimming Pool.
The Finchley Corporation has constructed two pools; one being specially intended for children. The main pool is 165ft. in length by 80ft. in width. It is convenient to make the length some multiple of the mile, and it will be noted that 165ft. is the equivalent of 1/32 of a mile. With regard to the depth, in order to conform to the suggestions of the Amateur Diving Association, the greatest depth of the pool, namely 10 ft., is situated at a point 20 ft. distant from the end where the water is 9 ft. deep. At the shallow end, the depth is 3 ft., but this depth does not increase uniformly from the minimum to the maximum.
In order to provide a larger area for the ordinary bather who prefers to splash about and stand up in the water, and for younger persons, the depth varies from 3 ft. to 6 ft. for more than two-thirds of the length, and then slopes more steeply down to the depth of 10 ft. The contents of the pool amount to 456,250 gal and every six hours the whole of this volume of water is pumped from the deep end and re-enters the pool at 12 points spaced round the pool just below the water level.
The walls and floor of the pool are constructed in reinforced concrete the thickness of the wall at the maximum depth being 7in., tapering to 5in. at. the top. Attention was paid to the subsoil drainage, as subsoil water is likely to cause considerable strain on the bottom of the pool when empty.
The pool is provided with a concrete scum channel, the edge of which forms a handrail. As there is a considerable wastage of water via the drainage of this channel, especially in windy weather, it is advisable to connect the channel drains to the pumping system and carry the wastewater to the filters for repurification.
Provision for Children.
Although it is possible for children to use the main pool with safety at the shallow end, a separate pool for small children has been constructed. increasing for them the attractiveness of bathing and at the same time relieving the pressure on the accommodation of the main pool.
The children’s pool is of the same length and width as its major and minor axes as the main pool. but is elliptical in shape instead of rectangular. The depth gradually shelves from zero to a maximum of 3 ft. 6 in. and consequently may be used by the children either as a paddling pool or for the purpose of learning to swim. The pool is built in mass concrete, and the contents amount to 130,000 gal.
Dressing Accommodation.
Owing to the large numbers of bathers which now frequent bathing establishments, it is not practicable to allow a separate cubicle to be retained by each, the arrangement now generally adopted being for the cubicles to be used for dressing and undressing only, and the clothes stored in a separate locker or other receptacle.
The placing of the dressing accommodation in its relation to the pool is an important matter, and the following points should receive consideration:
(a) The dressing accommodation should be capable of easy inspection by the attendant.
(b) the clothes lockers should adjoin the dressing boxes or cubicles and be readily accessible therefrom.
(c) the number of lockers may be three to six times the number of cubicles. At the Finchley pool three lockers arc provided per cubicle, but it is proposed to increase this number to four.
At Finchley there are 240 boxes with 720 lockers for men and women, and. in addition, a communal dressing room with 97 lockers has been provided for men only.
The size of the dressing boxes is 3 ft. by 6 ft. but the length could, if necessary, be reduced by a foot. The lockers are 12 in. square and 5 ft. high. The boxes and lockers are arranged in aisles of short length at right angles to the main gangway. which allows easy access and inspection.
In the centre of both blocks of dressing accommodation a small building has been erected containing shower baths, foot baths and sanitary conveniences, all under the control of an attendant. It may be mentioned that separate conveniences have been provided for spectators on their side of the pool.
Use of Lockers.
The method adopted to control the time allowed bathers for the use of lockers is the “coloured band system.” Each bather is issued with a numbered coloured rubber band. The colour denotes the session applicable to the bather, and the number corresponds with the locker in which the bather has deposited his clothes.
The sessions are only operated at peak times, and are of one and a quarter hours’ duration from the time the last coloured band of a particular session is issued to the time the wearers of such bands are requested to leave the water, so that each bather is allowed a minimum use of a locker for one and a quarter hours. This method allows continuous sessions and obviates the cleaning of the pool at given times, while it also allows bathers to remain as spectators.
Three different coloured bands are used, which are worn around the wrist or ankle. The time of the termination of a session is indicated on a special board on the shingle beach and notified to bathers by ringing a bell and through the microphones.
The Administration Buildings.
The administration buildings have been designed so as to face the Great North Road, the turnstiles being placed in a central position, with the ticket office, towel stores, staffrooms, and superintendent’s rooms on the left and the refreshment rooms and kitchen on the right. Since the original building was erected, a covered loggia has been built, of which a part is enclosed with glazed French windows to form an extension of the refreshment room. A kiosk for the sale of cigarettes, chocolates, and the like, stands within the loggia and blocks the view of the pool from outside the turnstiles. On the first floor of the building is situated the bath superintendent’s flat.
Recently, one of the smaller rooms has been converted into a gramophone record room, and by means of amplifiers the directions of the superintendent or, alternatively, musical numbers may be broadcast to the public making use of the pool. In connection with the children’s pool, a pavilion with flat reinforced concrete roof for spectators has been erected and contains separate conveniences and dressing accommodation for girls and boys.
The Pumping, Purification and Heating Plants.
The pools are served by two separate plants and alternative pumps arc provided in case of breakdown. Almost unique when installed, a plant exists for the heating of the water by oil-fired boilers and calorifiers. An endeavour is made to keep the water in the pool not lower than 65 deg. Fahr., the actual temperature being shown on metal plates which are hung up for the information of bathers.
The Lay-out and General Environment.
The main pool is surrounded with an area of buff paving stones, and further colour is introduced by means of flower-beds, and areas of turf lawns for the spectators; it should be noted, however, that bathers must not be allowed on the grass, or fouling by mud of the paving and pool will result.
Beaches are provided for sun-bathers, and it may be interesting to note that considerable difficulty was experienced in securing a clear bright shingle from sea beaches, the most satisfactory material being obtained from an inland gravel pit. Owing to the deposition of dust from the atmosphere, the shingle requires to be washed at more or less frequent intervals. Care must be taken to avoid pebbles gaining access to the pool, as they are apt to travel along the pumping main and cause difficulty.
In considering the colour of the paint work in and about the site, I have come to the opinion that it is well to avoid the red end of the spectrum and use paint of the blue-green and blue order, as these accord with the tint of the water to a marked degree. Contrast is always found to be afforded by the costumes of bathers.
Lighting.
The main pool has been floodlighted until 10 p.m. for two seasons, and arrangements are being made for the erection of rotating and dipping floodlights for the children’s pool, which are to be placed on the concrete masts which form part of the reinforced concrete shelter. The dressing-boxes are lighted at night by electric lights fixed above the glazed roofing of the passages between the boxes and the lockers.
Number of Persons Using the Pool.
The total number of persons recorded at the turnstiles is as follows: —
Session 1932 ………………………………….. 257,023
Session 1933 …………………………………. 309,454
Session 1934 ………………………………….. —
It is interesting to note that the maximum number of persons using the pool over a short period was recorded in August 1932, when 27,587 persons visited the pool in three days, the maximum number in one day being 9,298 on one of the three days mentioned.
At this time, the bath was being kept open until midnight.
Cost.
The capital cost of the scheme is as follows:
- Original works, 1932 £23,000
- Extensions to premises, 1933 £4,400
- Children’s pool, 1934 £7,100
- Total £34.500
