Just a moment...
Established in 1919 in a flooded limestone quarry, Henleaze Swimming Club was absolutely of its time. Sited in the middle of a newly developing, affluent suburb of Bristol, this open-air swimming club was considered progressive because it was open to women members from the start. The club was, in part, a response to the public appetite for... See more
New book celebrates 100 years of Henleaze Swimming Club – Outdoor Swimming Society
Unlike most indoor baths unbuilt during the Victorian and Edwardian period, Britain’s open air pools emerged at a time when mixed bathing was becoming more widely acceptable.
by the early 1930s, outdoor public swimming pools had become an emblem of municipal modernity and of faith in a brighter, more enlightened future, in much the same ways as public libraries had become a generation or two earlier. - liquid assets, p.19
When it opened in 1932, London Fields helped set a new standard for lidos, with changing rooms, a filtration system and a cafe. The lido was closed in 1988, and squatters soon moved in. It would have been demolished had campaigners not stepped up to save it. Eventually, in 2004, Hackney Council decided to revive the lido. It’s been enormously... See more
London’s lidos are swimming in history
In 1937, the LCC leader Herbert Morrison planned to make London “a city of Lidos”. This ambition was squashed by the Second World War (1939–1945), which forced a change of priorities. Later, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, London’s councils were pressured to cut costs. Lidos steadily disappeared. In 1950, Greater London had 70... See more