Originally constructed just after the outbreak of WWI, various facilities were added including a cafe and spectator seating in 1916.
Significant additions were made in the 1930’s at a cost of £20,000 that included excavating the tank to make it deeper and improving the filtration by the addition of 3 aereators. Two areas were created along the seaward side for children and the old diving platform and chute were removed. The fabulous diving stage was also added at this point.
In the 1950’s an extension was added to the back of the highest diving platform requiring a ladder to reach it from the original stairs.
| Name | South Bay Bathing Pool South Cliffe Gardens, Esplanade, Scarborough, Nth Yorkshire, YO11 2UZ |
| Built / opened | 21st July 1915 |
| Cost | £5,000 |
| Dimensions | 330′ x 167′ |
| Capacity | 1,600,000 gallons |
| Water type | Sea water |
| Depth(s) | 2′ to 7′ |
| Diving boards | 32′ concrete platform added in the 1930’s |
| Changing facilities | 137 dressing boxes |
| Second pool | N/A |
| Spectator seating | 4,000 capacity |
| Designer | Harry W. Smith, Borough Engineer |
| Date closed | 1989 |
| Status | Filled in and largely demolished at a cost of £1.2m |
| On site now | Filled in tank with walkway and some grass. |
| Notes | |
| Links | The Story of the lost Scarborough South Bay Pool (youtube.com) |
Developments in the Baths World – BABE October 1938
Scarborough
Further reconstruction of the South Bay bathing pool is proposed by the corporation In 1934 this bathing pool was virtually rebuilt at a cost of more than £20,000, a principal feature of the scheme being the raising of the outer wall to prevent the rising tide from flooding the pool. The Ministry of Health were not at that time prepared to permit the building of a lip to the wall, arguing that the wall was not strong enough to carry it, and the result is that the pool is still subject to tidal interference. The Entertainments Committee reports that it had now pledged itself to consider the heating and floodlighting of the bathing pool, increasing the height of the already reconstructed wall, and building a lip to it and tiling or painting white the bottom of the pool. The borough engineer and borough electrical engineer have received instructions to submit a detailed report on and estimate of the cost of the scheme. The Property Committee of the corporation propose to include in the estimates a sum of £46,880 for the provision of swimming baths on the White House site, The Crescent.
