The site of the Leys playing field was purchased by Dagenham Urban District Council in 1928 to provide for public recreation and the open-air swimming pool opened in 1939.
The lido was damaged by enemy action in three air raids during September and October 1940, but it continued to be highly popular with local residents, and people from further afield, throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s. It eventually closed after the 1979 summer season; in February 1980 the diving boards had extensive damage and it did not open that summer. Although estimates for long-term repairs were put together, and the public made a final attempt to open it in 1984, the pool never re-opened.
| Name | Leys Swimming Pool, Dagenham Old Dagenham Park, Ballards Road, Dagenham, LB Barking & Dagenham, RM10 9TP |
| Built / opened | 29th July 1939 |
| Cost | £30,000 |
| Dimensions | 165′ x 75′ |
| Capacity | 495,000 gallons 1,000 bathers |
| Water type | Filtered, purified sterilised |
| Depth(s) | 3′ 3″ at each end to 6′ in the centre |
| Diving | Diving pit 15′, 75′ x 75′ Diving stage of 3, 5 and 10m fixed boards, 1m springboards |
| Changing facilities | Hyg-gard-all storage for bathers’ clothes, there being 355 hangers for men, 150 (seven-eighths of men’s size) for boys, 254 for women and 150 for girls, a total of 909 hangers. Steel cubicles, 56 for men and 42 for women. Showers and footbaths are provided in each dressing block. |
| Second pool | Childrens pool 50 ft. by 25 ft., depths 6 in. to 3 ft. 6 in |
| Spectator seating | For 359 people |
| Designer | F C Lloyd (Borough Engineer & Surveyor) |
| Date closed | 1979 |
| Status | Demolished post 1984 |
| On site now | Two car parks adjacent to the road otherwise grassed over |
| Notes | |
| Links | |
| Last updated | 14th March 2025 |
Baths and Bath Engineering, March / April 1940
The new swimming pool opened last year at The Leys, which is part of Old Dagenham Park, is the second open-air scheme provided by the Dagenham Borough Council; the first was constructed at Valence Park, in 1931, at a cost of approximately £11,000, and consisted of a pool 150 ft. long by 50 ft. wide, with administrative offices and dressing accommodation.
Covering an area of 27 acres, the new scheme consists of a large pool for mixed bathing, a small pool for children, a pavilion, two dressing blocks, filter-house, sunbathing lawns, bicycle accommodation, and car park.
Pavilion
The pavilion is the main building and contains the entrance foyer, administrative offices, assembly hall, cloakrooms, clubroom, and cafe. At one end of the assembly hall is a large stage with three-colour lighting. Seating accommodation is provided for 359 persons, and as the seats are joined together in short sections they are easily removed and stacked under the stage; this leaves a dancing space for 150 couples. When the seats are in position the floor is protected by a covering of canvas. The cafe is furnished with tables and chairs for 34 people, and light refreshments are available. A service window is built into the outside wall to avoid a continual stream of bathers making small purchases in the cafe. The club room, which is situated close to the stage, is used as an artistes’ dressing room as and when the necessity arises.
Dressing Accommodation
Both dressing blocks are equipped with the “Hyg-gard-all” system of storage for bathers’ clothes, there being 355 hangers for men, 150 (seven-eighths of men’s size) for boys, 254 for women and 150 for girls, a total of 909 hangers. The number of steel cubicles is 56 for men and 42 for women.
Showers and footbaths are provided in each dressing block.
Main Pool
The large pool, living a maximum accommodation for 1,000 bathers, is 165 ft. long by 75 ft. wide, depth of water being 3 ft. 3 in. at the ends, and sloping gradually towards the centre to a depth of 6 ft. At the centre there is a diving pit 15 ft. deep. The deep-water section in the centre is 75 ft. long by 75 ft. wide, and the polo area is 75 ft.by 60 ft. and is entirely within the deep-water urea.
The reinforced concrete diving stage, erected in accordance with the requirements of the Amateur Diving Association, comprises 3, 5 and 10 m. fixed boards, and chute and 1m. springboards are also provided. Entrance to the bathers’ enclosure is through footbaths with running water.
Children’s Pool
A separate pool, 50 ft. by 25 ft., with depths of water ranging from 6 in. to 3 ft. 6 in., is provided for children. A wire net surround ensures that the children pass through the footbath before entering the pool. One end is stepped to afford easy access for smaller children.
Water Purification
The filtration and purification plant is designed to treat completely the water in the pools, approximately 494,800 gal., once every six hours The filtration plant consists of two 8 ft. diameter by 24 ft. long Paterson pressure filters. Sterilisation is by means of the chloramine process and the purified water is aerated before returning to the pool. Inlets for the purified water are at both ends of the pools, and additional aeration is obtained from the ornamental fountains. Outlets are provided in the bottom of the pools, and a section of the scum troughing has been lowered so that a 20 per cent. draw-off is obtained from the surface. Three relief valves are provided in the bottom of the diving pit to counteract possible pressure of the subsoil water.
Constructional Details
The pavilion has a suspended reinforced concrete floor, the surfacing being strip maple flooring. The building is faced with “Ryarsh” sand lime blue and buff No. 1 facing bricks. A variegated coloured roof to the assembly hall in “Hardrow” concrete slates tones with the general surroundings.
The remaining pavilion roofs are flat and in reinforced concrete with upstanding beams and are surfaced with asphalt. The dressing blocks are built from the reinforced concrete raft and are in fair face brickwork painted internally and externally with two coats of ‘ Silexine ” No. 20. The filter-house is of similar construction with the exception that the site of the building was covered with weak concrete (10: 1) as filling. These buildings are roofed with red “Turnall” Trafford tiles.
Both pools are constructed in high-grade reinforced concrete, the walls being 6 in. thick and the floors 3in. of blinding concrete (9 to 1) with 6 in. raft on top (1: 13: 34). Expansion joints filled with “Masticon” are provided in the floors, while copper and “Masticon” expansion joints are formed in the walls. “Imperex” was used as the waterproofing medium and the finished surface painted with blue “Cementone.” Buff-coloured copings and scum troughs with a 12 in. tile to take any water mark complete the walls of the pools.
General
Accommodation for spectators is provided by means of the raised banks at the ends of the large pool, and floodlighting is furnished to both pools.
The approximate cost of the scheme was over £30,000, and the work was carried out by Messrs. Walter Lawrence and Son. Ltd., London; among the sub-contractors were the following:
- J. J. Bassett and Co., London – sanitary fittings.
- Brierley and Kershaw. Ltd., Rochdale-steel cubicles.
- Grierson, Ltd., London – electrical equipment,
- Paterson Engineering Co., Ltd. London – filtration and purification plant.
- J. Sieber, London – clothes hangers.
The consultants for the reinforced concrete work were The British Reinforced Concrete Engineering Co. Ltd. Stafford.
The whole of the work was designed and carried out under the supervision of the borough engineer and surveyor, Mr. F. C. Lloyd, Assoc.M.Inst. C.E., M. Inst.M and Cy. E.
