In 1935 a new open air swimming pool was opened in Newmarket High Street. The pool was adjacent and behind the White Lion hotel and public house and the land was owned by the proprietors.
The pool hosted the Newmarket Swimming Club that moved to the site from a pool in nearby Exning when the well that supplied the water for the old pool dried up.
In the 1970s brewer Greene King outlined plans to demolish the pool to build a car park next to the White Lion. Fund-raising began to help fund a new pool but in October 1975 the brewery said it would sell the pool to Forest Heath District Council for £40,000.
By 1977 the pool was both heated and covered. In 2000, the pool developed a significant leak and had to close. The pool closed again in December due to electrical issues problems. It wasn’t to re-open until April 2001.
The council submitted a bid for £3 million of lottery funding to build a new leisure centre and pool and this was granted in 2001. The buildings were demolished and the pool infilled in 2011 after the new pool had opened. The site was surrounded by hoarding and allowed to revert to nature.
| Name | Newmarket Swimming Pool 218 High Street, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9AP, England |
| Built / opened | 1935 |
| Cost | |
| Dimensions | 65′ x 45′ (approx. and scaled from aerial image) |
| Water volume | |
| Water type | |
| Depth(s) | |
| Diving boards | 1m springboard. Fixed boards of 1m, 2m and 3m (approx) |
| Changing facilities | |
| Second pool | N/A |
| Spectator seating | |
| Designer | |
| Date closed | c2008 |
| Status | Demolished 2011 |
| On site now | Grassed over |
| Last updated | 15th May 2025 |
