LIDOS


Named – some said pretentiously – after the Italian word for beach, many of the most impressive examples were built in large cities or seaside resorts – but even more low-profi le locations boasted pools on a vast scale. In Grotton, for example, two miles from Oldham, a 150 by 50ft cement pool was built in 1935, on the site of an old mill pond.


FOR MANY PEOPLE THE LIDO WAS A PLACE OF UNPARALLELED EXOTICISM


The media, naturally, latched onto the craze: lidos had a starring role in the Daily Mirror’s photo spreads of people enjoying the summer heat waves – headed ‘London Sunday lido scenes’. And, although the broadsheet papers referred sniffi ly to "so-called 'Lidos'", no one could ignore their levelling and liberating power. For many people, especially the young, the lido was a place of unparalleled exoticism. Margate Lido, historian Juliet Gardiner reminds us, had six licensed cafes, seating for 3,000, and pitches for six orchestras. Morecambe Super Swimming Stadium, built in 1936 to compete with the nearby resort of Blackpool, had a mile-long queue at its opening. Sadly, despite the feeling of many – mirroring the speech made by Josiah Stamp, the governor of the Bank of England, at the opening of Morecombe’s pool – that "when we get down to swimming, we get down to democracy", many of these pools are now gone. Margate has been fi lled in, Morecambe was demolished in 1976 after drainage problems, and the future of others – like Saltdean in Sussex (see box) – remains uncertain. It's our turn to hark back to historical values, but now they are those of the lidos. We still visit them, but rather to escape modernity than to embrace it; and it is the indifference of local government – rather than the scorn of traditionalists – that is their biggest enemy.


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All that remains of Margate Lido in Cliftonville


Nonetheless, there is more than an echo of the original democratic lido spirit in the fierce loyalty with which modern communities have fought for their pools. Lidos are much more than just swimming pools – but their appeal remains disarmingly simple. Ivor Brown wrote that, in a lido: "We recreate in the original sense of that word; a dip in the dog-days can blessedly persuade us that a jaded body has been fashioned new for living." In that sense at least, nothing has changed. ∆


Jonathan Knott is a freelance journalist and news editor for the Outdoor Swimming Society. He has written on lidos for a number of publications including The Guardian and the Evening Standard. His local lido is London Fields. Alongside swimming, he writes about politics and travel and is the author of the travel guide skiathostruth.com


SAVE SALTDEAN LIDO


Built in 1938, Saltdean Lido – in a suburb of Brighton – is regarded as one of the finest existing examples of art deco architecture, designed by R H W Jones and Charles Neville. The pool’s future came under threat in 2010, when the leaseholder announced plans to convert the building into flats, but a public campaign soon sprang up, and there are grounds for hope. English Heritage have confirmed that the building’s listed status would make it difficult to be developed as property, while architects Conran and Partners have agreed to work with the lido campaigners on plans to restore the pool. For more info, or if you'd like to help, see saltdeanlidocampaign.org


Photo © Andy Jakeman


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