The lido design is a semicircle of 180 feet (55 metres) diameter. It stands on the site of the 19th century Ladies Bathing Place, which had been provided with a new shelter in 1871, when permission for the Crystal Palace Company to open an aquarium on this site had been refused.
The pool was built for a cost of £19,000 and opened on 2nd October 1935.
The site comprises a concrete pool, counter-fort outer walls, reinforced concrete inner walls, duct walls and floors. The main building is reinforced with concrete and has some stone retaining walls. The semi-circular pool has projecting jetties, and at the entrance, there are circular cutwaters separated by steps.
There were originally pontoons and tidal pools surrounding the enclosed tank and a large diving stage into the sea.The buildings are in the art deco style and have square metal windows and a staircase. The pool has three fountains and is surrounded by cast-iron railings.
The pool weathered storms in 1989 but by 1992 was facing growing repair bills and generating little income for the £120,000 running cost. A victim of declining popularity and neglect, the lido closed in 1992.
A a vociferous local campaign led to a renovation, at a cost of £3.4 million, and Grade II status in 1998. The facility re-opened to the public in 2005. During refurbishment the three tidal pools, pontoons and diving boards were all removed or filled in. English Heritage watched closely the development of the buildings and whilst the exterior is unchanged, the inside was almost completely removed to allow for modern standards of changing rooms and access to be installed.
| Name | Tinside Lido aka Plymouth Open Air Sea-Water Bathing Pool Hoe Road, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3DE |
| Built / opened | 2nd October 1935 by the Lord Mayor of Plymouth (Coun. E. W. Rogers, J.P.). Re-opened 15 August 2003, the refurbished pool was opened by Lord Mayor Councillor Claude Miller, whose father had been involved with the original pool. |
| Cost | £19,000 |
| Dimensions | 180′ diameter |
| Capacity | 500,000 gallons |
| Water type | Filtered sea water, unheated |
| Depths | 2′ to 9′ |
| Diving boards | Adjacent diving stage into the sea, highest board was 18m. |
| Changing facilities | |
| Second pool | Outside the south bastion of the pool was a paddling pool for use at low tide. |
| Spectator seating | |
| Designer | John S Wibberley, City Engineer and architect Construction by Edmund Nuttall Sons & Co, and John Mowlem & Co Ltd. |
| Date closed | 1992 then re-opened 15th August 2003 by Councillor Claude Mitchell whose father had been a councillor involved with the original pool project. |
| Status | Open |
| On site now | The pool |
| Notes | |
| Links | Tinside Lido – Leisure/Swimming Pool Tinside Lido – Wikipedia |
| Last updated | 23rd July 2025 |
Baths and Bath Engineering December 1935
Plymouth Open-air Sea-water Bathing Pool.
Included in the scheme for the development of the Hoe foreshore by the City of Plymouth this year was a new bathing pool at Tinside. This open-air sea-water bathing pool was opened on October 2 by the Lord Mayor of Plymouth (Coun. E. W. Rogers, J.P.).
The pool, which is semi-circular in plan, is 180ft. diameter to inner wall (water surface), with a capacity of 500,000 gal. The minimum depth of water is 2 ft., and the maximum 9 ft. The construction of the pool consists of mass concrete outer walls, strengthened by counterfort walls, reinforced concrete inner walls, duct walls and floors.
Fresh sea water is pumped into the pool through three cascades, giving a complete renewal of fresh sea water every four hours.
The pumping machinery, supplied and installed by Pulsometer Engineering Co., Ltd., of Reading, has duplicate sets of electrically driven pumps.
General.
The pool incorporates the most modern features of construction, including submarine floodlighting.
The lights are controlled from a switch-room erected in the north-east corner of the pool promenade; the cables being housed in a duct constructed under the bathers’ promenade. Light is projected through armoured plate glass panels placed in the semi-circular side of the pool and also in the walls of the central cascade. The two cascades adjoining the promenade are provided with ” three colour ” changing lights.
Outside the south bastion of the bathing pool is provided a paddling pool for use at low tide. Additional bathing and sunbathing features are provided adjoining.
The total cost of the scheme was £19,000.
Engineer and Contractors.
The pool was constructed to the plans of the city engineer, surveyor and architect of Plymouth, Mr J. Wibberley, A.M.Inst.C.E., F.R.San.I. The contractors for the construction of the scheme were Edmund Nuttall, Sons and Co., and John Mowlem and Co. (Joint), Ltd.
