Stamshaw Open Air Pool

Bathing in the area was in a lagoon opposite Whale Island in Portsmouth Harbour. Changing facilities were provided in 1904. By 1909, funds of £5,237 had been approved to form a proper pond that would be filled with sea water that was already flowing over the site.

The area in the north of Portsea Island was developed by the United Land Company to house workers at the expanding Portsmouth Dockyard. The houses did not have running water so the pond was used for weekly bathing. Unfortunately, the pond did not have any means of changing or filtering the water so it was replenished at high tide.

The pool was the home of the Northsea Swimming Club, formed informally at the pools inception in 1911 and formally in 1919 following a hiatus during WW1.

In March 1938, the pool was threatened with closure due to water quality issues both from surface water drainage and cracks in the pool base. A local petition collected 818 signatures protesting the closure. The pool was closed during the whole of the 1938 season to allow for extensive repairs costing in the region of £15,000. By 1939, there were calls for the pool to be reconstructed completely but this did not progress further due to WWII.

By 1950, the base of the pool was in a dangerous condition and it was broken up and the pool infilled.