To mark the 20-year anniversary of the list created by the late Oliver Merrington and fellow pool enthusiast Andy Hoines, we list the pools and their status in 2005 and give updates for 2025. Of the 32 pools, 7 have been re-opened, one awaits refurbishment, one has been saved for future re-opening and one re-opened and has temporarily closed.
Twenty-one have been lost forever.
You can read the original list on the Wayback Machine here… You can also see many of the original pages from Oliver’s lidos.org.uk site.
| Status 2005 | Status 2025 | |
| Addlestone Leisure Centre Outdoor Pool, London, England, 1977 | The pool had been drained and was then left filled with murky water. | Filled in 2014 |
| Bailey Park Outdoor Pool Abergavenny, Wales, 1938 | 1996: Abergavenny Town Council reluctantly decided to close the pool amid health and safety fears. Aerial image from 2004 shows pool laying unused and practically empty. | By 2006 the buildings had been demolished and the tank filled in then by 2008 the area had been grassed over. |
| Barking Lido London, England, 1931 | Closed in 1998 and left derelict. | Re-opened in 2012 as a splash pad. Existing building remain but adjacent paddling pool filled in. Pair of aereators saved and incorporaed in new design. |
| Baylis House Pool Slough, England, 1965 | Closed 1988. Tank filled in and grassed over but pool surround still visible. | Practically unchanged. |
| Broomhill Swimming Pool Ipswich, Suffolk 1938 | Closed and Grade II listed in 2002. | As at March 2025, we await the start of the restoration Project. |
| Bulwell Lido Nottingham, England, 1937 | Closed in 2003 and tank filled in but buildings remain. | By 2007 the whole site had been demolished and housing built. |
| Carterton Swimming Pool Oxfordshire, 1970s | Closed in 2003 and filled in by 2004. | By 2009 the land had been sold and housing built. |
| Cleveland Pleasure Baths Bristol, England, 1817 | Laying derelict | Re-opened September 2023. Closed January 2024 due to flood damage. Awaiting restoration. |
| Cold Knap Lido Barry, Wales, 1926 | Tank filled in March 2004 | By 2006 landscaping work to follow the outline of the pool and buildings had been completed. |
| Clifton Victoria Baths Bristol 1850 | Closed 1990. In 2005 the buildings lay derelict and the tank left empty. | Following an extensive refurbishment the pool re-opened 2008 |
| Deer Leap Berkhamstead, England c1935 | Tank filled in c2005 | By 2006 the site had been sold for private development |
| Droitwich Spa Lido Worcester, England, 1935 | Closed in 2000 | The local population voted to restore the pool in 2005 and it was re-opened in 2007. It remains open today. |
| Eltham Park Lido Elthan, England, 1924 | Closed 1988 and left derelict | Buildings demolished, tank filled in and grassed over in 2006 |
| Hendy Outdoor Swimming Pool Swansea, Wales, 1932 | Pool closed in 2002 and sitting derelict in 2005 | Campaigns to re-open the pool took place but the pool needed £250k of structural work alone and it was finally filled in and the buildings demolished in 2009. |
| Hunstanton Lido Hunstanton, England, 1928 | Closed 2002 | According to various sources this pool was demolished in 1967 and an indoor pool built in its place. |
| Grange-over-Sands Lido Cumbria, England, 1932 | Closed 1992 and sitting derelict in 2005 | 2023 saw a “light touch” refurbishment that repaired buildings and the tank had a loose fill material installed enabling it to be removed in the future. The building is open and useable as an exhibition space. |
| Keeper’s Pool Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, England, 1887 | Closed in 2003 after vandals burned down the buildings. | The pool has been allowed to revert to its natural state. |
| King’s Meadow Swimming Baths Reading, England, 1903 | Closed in the 1970’s. Granted Grade II status in 2004. | In 2013 the pool was handed to the same team that had made a success of Clifton (Bristol) and work started to refurbish. The pool re-opened in 2017. |
| London Fields Lido London, England, 1932 | Closed in 1998 and left derelict. | Re-opened in 2006 and remains so. |
| Malmesbury Outdoor Pool Wiltshire, England, 1961 | Closed 2003 | Tank filled in 2006 and since demolished and built over |
| Marsden Park Open Air Pool Lancashire, England, c1930 | Closed in 1999. Pool left clean and tidy if aerial images are accurate. | The pool was filled in and grassed over by 2006. It had been intended to plant and landscape to the shape of the pool but this did not happen. |
| Pier Lido Clacton, England, 1932 | Converted to dolphinarium in 1971. The pool was empty and unused by 2003. | Partly refurbished to a much smaller size circa 2017. |
| Risca (Longbridge) Gwent, Wales, c1930 | Closed in 1978 when a new indoor pool was opened. Appears to have been demolished but buildiings remained in use as changing rooms. | Buildings finally demolished in 2021. |
| Royston Outdoor Pool Herts, England, 1930 | Closed after the final season in 2005. | Left derelict until c2017 when it was demolished and built over. |
| St Neots Outdoor Pool Cambridgeshire, England, 1961 | Closed in 2003 | Demolished and built over in 2006 |
| Stanford Hall Outdoor Pool Nottingham, England, 1937 | This wasn’t a public pool. Closed c2001 and left derelict. | Left in a derelict state until 2015 when the adjacent stately home that was being used as a defence rehabilitation centre was demolished and the whole site was sold off for housing development. |
| Theale Green Recreation Centre Berkshire, England, | Pool closed in 2005 following boiler breakdown and potential costs of £200k to repair. | Pool was filled in and grassed over by 2010. Since then the adjacent school has created a wellness garden on the site. |
| Uxbridge Lido London, England, 1935 | The pool closed in 1998 and was left to deteriorate. | The pool re-opened in 2010. |
| Wealdstone Open Air Swimming Bath Harrow, England, 1934 | Closed in 1997 and left derelict. | Filled in a built over between 2006 and 2010. |
| Woodgreen Lido aka Banbury Open Air Pool Banbury, Oxfordshire, 1939 | Closed in 2002. By 2005, a campaign group had been established to save the pool. | Re-opened 2009 |
| Worthing Lido, Sussex 1897 (as a bandstand) 1957 as a pool | Closed in 1988 and finall built over in 1989-1990 but all buildings remain with the pool intact under the floor. | In January 2025 a petition to restore the lido to the Grade II building was started. There are fears that the building could fall into the sea. |
| Ynysangharad Swimming Pool, Pontypridd, Wales, 1927 | Closed in 1991 after a serious fire and lay relatively unscathed. Campaigns to re-open stared circa 2002. | Work on the refurbishment started in 2013 and the pool was re-opened in 2015 as Lido Ponty, the National Lido of Wales. |
