The North-West’s LOST LIDOS

By Margaret Brecknell

Open-air swimming pools, sometimes known as lidos, were once a regular feature of towns and cities across the country.

During the first part of the 20th century, swimming, as a way of keeping fit, became increasingly fashionable. This keep-fit craze provided seaside resorts with an opportunity to offer something new to the thousands of holidaymakers who visited each year. No expense was spared in constructing some quite magnificent lidos at England’s seaside towns

The lido reached its height of popularity in the inter-war years, but gradually lost its appeal to holidaymakers, who increasingly preferred to sunbathe by the pool in warmer climes rather than risk the vagaries of the British weather. Here in the North-West, there were once some particularly fine lidos, but sadly, with one notable exception, these have all now been lost to posterity.

The Sandcastle Waterpark is now situated on the site at Blackpool’s South Shore once occupied by a beautiful openair lido.

Blackpool was one of the first seaside resorts to build an open-air swimming pool at a cost of the then hefty sum of £75,000. The South Shore’s new open-air baths were opened during Blackpool Carnival Week in June 1922. This huge structure was inspired by classical architecture, with a main entrance hall and colonnades that would not have looked out of place in a temple from ancient Greece or Rome. The unusual D-shaped pool was said to be the largest in the world and was filled with 1.6million gallons of sea water, which was continuously filtered by then state-of-the-art pumping equipment.

There were seven diving boards, from which to choose, including the 10m high board which reportedly used to sway on a windy day.

As well as providing a state-of-the-art facility for holidaymakers, the pool was also used frequently for competitive races, which were held in a specially cordonedoff section. Early in its history, the swimming and diving trials for the 1928 British Olympic team were held there.

In 1930, the Lido hosted the first Lancashire Cotton Queen contest, an event that continued annually until the outbreak of World War II. The competition, which was open to any female cotton mill worker aged between 16 and 26, was designed to promote the then already flagging textile industry. An entrant was selected by each Lancashire cotton town and the best contestants, as chosen by readers of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, were invited to attend the final in Blackpool.

Such was its fame in its early days that the Lido was even used as a film location, featuring in the 1934 movie, Sing As We Go, starring one of the North-West’s most iconic entertainers, Gracie Fields.

However, such an impressive structure proved increasingly costly to maintain. The once popular visitor attraction became unprofitable, as more and more Brits began to holiday abroad. Following years of neglect, the South Shore open-air baths, which had once been the resort’s pride and joy, finally closed to the public in 1981 and were demolished two years later.  SOUTHPORT

Southport’s first open-air baths were opened in 1914, but, following the development of Princes Park close to the Marine Lake in the immediate post-World War I years, these were replaced by a new and improved grand open-air swimming pool.

Opened in May 1928, its design resembled a Roman amphitheatre, with a circular swimming pool surrounded by tiered seating and a café that featured an impressive domed roof. A covered arcade ran round the sea-facing side of the pool, which, as well as being aesthetically pleasing, provided the intrepid open-air bathers with some protection from the elements.

In its heyday the pool was a popular venue for beauty pageants, as well as a host of other events. In September 1969, Black Sabbath, headed by the inimitable Ozzy Osbourne, performed to a huge crowd from a platform in the middle of the pool.

Like so many of its North-West counterparts, visitor numbers fell dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s and the openair pool became unprofitable to run. It eventually closed in 1989 and was demolished in 1993. Today, the Ocean Plaza retail park is situated close to the spot occupied by this once popular visitor attraction.

NEW BRIGHTON

Not long after opening in June 1934, the impressive New Brighton open-air bathing pool was attracting over 100,000 visitors per week. These huge visitor numbers did not present a problem, as the venue was able to accommodate up to 3000 bathers and 20,000 spectators.

Plenty of attractions were on offer including two large cafés. Music was played by day. At night, underwater lighting illuminated the open-air pool. As well as swimming galas and water polo matches, the brochure for the 1948 summer season advertised “Aquatic Revues with England’s leading dance bands each Saturday during July and August” and “Brock’s Fireworks Displays each Wednesday evening during July, August and September”.

The New Brighton open-air pool was still attracting large crowds for special events as late as 1984, when it hosted a four-day music festival called New Brighton Rock which was televised by ITV.

This once magnificent pool was badly damaged by storms in 1990 and was later demolished, despite much local opposition. The Marine Point shopping and leisure complex was later constructed on the site.

MORECAMBE

The idea of building a large outdoor swimming pool in Morecambe was conceived as an attempt to outdo the resort’s close rival, Blackpool. The chosen site, close to Morecambe Bay, had formerly been occupied by a shipbreaking yard, which the local Council considered

to be an eyesore. No expense was spared in constructing Morecambe’s Super Swimming Stadium, which, when it opened in July 1936, was said to be the largest outdoor swimming pool in Europe.

In contrast to the neo-classical style of its Blackpool counterpart, the design of Morecambe’s open-air pool owed a lot to the then fashionable modernist movement in architecture. The dignitary, who conducted the official opening ceremony (Sir Josiah Stamp of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway), remarked that, “Your new bath is not only the last word in modernity, but it also gives the facilities for a recreation and sport which will stay with us always”.

Shortly after the end of World War II, the open-air pool was chosen as the venue for an exciting new entertainment spectacular which, it was hoped, would attract many new visitors to the town. The first Miss Great Britain beauty pageant, or the National Bathing Beauty Contest as it was originally known, was held there in August 1945. Despite pouring rain, an estimated crowd of 4300 people watched the final, which was won by a local typist called Lydia Reid. The venue would continue to host the Miss Great Britain beauty contest for many years.

A fault, which stemmed all the way back to the open-air pool’s original construction, eventually contributed to its downfall. Even before construction of the pool itself began, a problem was discovered in the basin which was to form its foundation. A breach in the sea wall meant that it was possible for seawater to flow into the pool at high tide and water could leak out at low tide. Despite several attempts over the years to fix the problem, the cause of the leak was never properly established.

Eventually, in 1975, it was announced that the stadium would not open for that year’s summer season because of structural defects. Any hopes that it would be restored to its former glory were quickly dashed when it was demolished the following year. In an interesting quirk of fate, the site once occupied by the Morecambe Super Swimming Stadium is now set to become the location for an exciting new venture, which it is hoped will once more attract many first-time visitors to the seaside resort. Planning permission has been recently granted for the Eden Project North, an eco-tourism attraction which is already attracting much interest in the media.

GRANGE-OVER-SANDS LIDO

Grange-Over-Sands Lido in South Cumbria is the odd one out in this list in that it still survives to this day, although it has been closed since the early 1990s.

The Lido was officially opened in August 1932. As well as its unusual mushroom-shaped pool, the facilities on offer included viewing galleries, sunbathing terraces and changing rooms, all of which were designed in the then fashionable art deco style. Its location, just off the Promenade, offered spectacular views of Morecambe Bay and the Lake District.

Extensive repair work was carried out during the 1970s, but, in 1993, it was decided to close the Lido rather than to proceed with further expensive refurbishment. Since then, the Lido has been largely left to rot and, like so many of its counterparts, looked destined for demolition. However, local campaigners never gave up hope that this once popular venue would be reopened one day and achieved their first major success when, in 2011, Grange Lido was granted Grade II listed status.

At a time when outdoor swimming pools are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, the “Save Grange Lido” campaign has gradually gained impetus over the last decade and, after years in the doldrums, a project has been recently announced, which aims to restore the derelict Lido and reopen it to the public.

Grange-Over-Sands Lido as it is today - Photo credit: Alex Lilvet

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Green Architecture...

I thought this month it would be prudent to share my experiences with you all. My first love has always been Architecture and learning about different buildings.

It has always fascinated me in how Architects can come up with such fantastic and creative buildings. They put pen to paper and the next thing you know it becomes real. The concept has a lot of dependencies of course!

Having been to Milan, we were recommended to go and have a look at this amazing “Green” building. The building is called” Bosco Verticale” The Vertical Forest.

With the big drive for “Greener buildings” and the return to greenery, Milan have created nature spots. This being one of them – Bosco Verticale. The result of the creative minds come from Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca and Giovanni La Varra, who chose to design a green space that extended upwards, the Bosco Verticale – Vertical Forest – which includes over 2,000 tree species spread over two skyscrapers that are 112m and 80m high respectively. The green consultant and curator was the Milan-born landscape designer and agronomist Laura Gatti.

FOR ALL YOU DIY LOVERS AND PROFESSIONALS WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN INDUSTRY

Bosco Verticale is located in the Porta Nuova district, at the heart of one of the most important urban regeneration projects in a European historical centre. The two green towers overlook the 10 hectares of the Biblioteca degli Alberti of Milan, known as BAM. The park is the first example in Italy of a public park managed by a private organisation, the Riccardo Catella Foundation, which is in charge of managing the green space, an important element reconnecting the entire Porta Nuova area.

The benefits provided are by the plants found in the hanging gardens of the two buildings. In fact, the forest absorbs fine dust and CO2, which boosts the production of moisture and oxygen and has a positive effect on the weather, helping to moderate temperatures.

The building itself is self-sufficient by using renewable energy from solar panels and filtered wastewater to sustain the buildings’ plant life. These green technology systems reduce the overall waste and carbon footprint of the towers. The design was tested in a wind tunnel to ensure the trees would not topple from gusts of wind. Botanists and horticulturalists were consulted by the engineering team to ensure that the structure could bear the load imposed by the plants.

In 2015 it won the award for the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” according to a ranking drawn up by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Looking at it from different points of view, the Bosco Verticale is considered by many to be a symbol of a Milan. It is an environmentally friendly building, but it is an amazing piece of architecture that allows apartment residents to enjoy greenery from a high-rise building. Cement and greenery come together to form a partnership that was once unthinkable.

It’s an elegant and simple concept, which cuts the buildings’ energy use, while providing Milanese with a green vertical oasis in the city’s built-up centre.

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