London’s lidos are swimming in history
londonmuseum.org.uk
London’s lidos are swimming in history
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.
Roger Deakin, writer of ‘Waterlog’, 2000, ‘it must be a sign of our anglo saxon awkwardness about the pleasures of the flesh that we borrowed the word lido from the Italians, just as we took café, restaurant and champagne from the french. Like restaurants, lidos are about style and sensuality. Iris Murdoch called swimming pools “machines for
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