In recent months, two of the nation’s historic pools, Peterborough Lido and Hathersage Outdoor Swimming Pool in the Peak District, have marked their 90th birthdays.
The celebrations for each were fabulous community focused occasions, reflecting the same spirit and sense of civic pride as when they opened in 1936. Peterborough Lido began with the launch of a City Council competition in 1933 to find an architect to design a new swimming pool, at a time of considerable investment in civic improvements. Five of the city’s architects responded and agreed to work together without charging a fee. A Baths Committee of local councillors oversaw the project and the building work was carried out by the city’s unemployed men.
The new pool was unlike anything else in the city. Its clock tower, streamlined design and striking appearance stood in sharp contrast to Peterborough’s predominantly Victorian architecture. Equipped with underwater floodlights and even pipework for a future heating system, it represented both ambition and optimism.
Hathersage Swimming Pool’s beginnings were quite different, but no less ambitious. The vision for an outdoor pool was made possible by the generosity of local businessman George Lawrence, and remarkably, the pool was built in just ten weeks.
It formed part of the King George V Memorial Field, alongside tennis courts, bandstand, playing fields and paddling pool.
Whilst the diving boards have long gone, the veranda remains much as it was, and the experience of swimming with the Peak District setting as your backdrop is every bit as magical as it must have been in 1936. Sadly, George’s story was to end just four years later, when he was killed after a bomb struck his Sheffield factory in December 1940.
Historic pools place great emphasis on celebrating their birthdays not least because their survival is something to applaud. This makes the contrast with King Edward Swimming Pool in Sheffield’s Broomhill all the more poignant. The pool has recently closed in what would have been its 90th birthday year, with local campaigners hoping to reverse this decision.
Championing and connecting these remarkable places is what Historic Pools of Britain (HPB) is all about.
Pools over 50 years old are invited to join part of a growing network that stretches from Stonehaven Outdoor Pool on the east coast of Scotland, which opened in 1934, to Saltdean Lido on the south coast of England, which re-opened in 2024 after a community-led campaign.
Find out about joining Historic Pools of Britain at www.historicpools.org.uk/membership
Corporate organisations can also support HPB – Get in touch via info@historicpools.org.uk
