Chelmsford Baths aka Riverside
The open-air bath at the Waterloo Lane site was opened on 5th May 1906 by the mayoress, Mrs Frederic Chancellor. The pool measured 150 feet by 100 feet, held 437,000…
outdoor swimming
Bathurst Pool
A pool given to the community of Lydney by Mr Charles Bathurst, 1st Earl Bledisloe to celebrate the 21st birthday of his eldest son, Benjamin. The pool was opened on…
Cold Knap Bathing Pool aka Barry Lido
Barry’s Cold Knap Lido opened on 1st May 1926 and, in common with many others, was built by the local unemployed. The paddling pool was a later addition, possibly circa…
Banbury Lido aka Woodgreen Swimming Pool
Banbury Lido was built with the assistance of a £4,000 grant from the National Fitness Council and cost £7,900 for the build plus £1,263 for the purification plant. It was…
Enfield Baths
Enfield Baths was a fairly standard rectangular pool surrounded by a huge oval stadium with extensive support buildings. When the pool opened in 1932, it was lauded as the “largest”…
Hathersage Open Air Swimming Pool
Hathersage pool was the first of two pools gifted to the people of Sheffield and surrounding village by George Lawrence, the second being Longley Park, the subject of our post…
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…
Longley Park Bathing Pool
The pool at Longley Park in Sheffield has a connection with the open-air pool at Hathersage. Both were gifts to the community from George Lawrence, proprietor of G H Lawrence…
Purley Way Open-Air Bathing Pool
A London pool that was one of very few that could compete with the size and spectacle of the seaside stadiums such as South Shore at Blackpool, Morecambe and Heysham…
Spiders Web Bathing Pool, Whitby
The pool was privately owned by Mr H S Meek. He originally offered the pool with the attached cafe and putting green on 6,400 square yards of land to the…