As the mercury rises and summer no longer seems like such a far-off prospect, it’s no doubt made many older Southampton residents think back with longing to the days when the town - and later, city - had an outdoor swimming pool complex.
It was only five decades ago when the residents of the city could easily enjoy a cooling dip outside.
Those were the days of the Southampton Lido.
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The first pool was built in 1854
The first open-air pool on the edge of the lido site was built in 1854 by the Southampton Public Baths and Wash Houses Company.
The water-based attraction was located on the railway end of Western Esplanade.
Cost was £5,000
The directors of the company, in their plans, promised a baths complex “which would surpass all bathing establishments in the country” for a total investment of £5,000 - almost £450,000 in today’s money.
However, the ambitious plan hit financial problems and only the gentleman’s open-air pool and the ladies’ covered pool were completed.
At the time, it was one of the first lidos in the country.
The shape didn’t change much over the years
In spite of two major alterations through the years, the last lido was almost identical in shape to the original gentleman’s pool, which took water direct from the River Test.
It was said to be the biggest and finest in the country
From its construction, right up to the 1930s, it was considered one of the biggest and best in the country.
Initially it did not have tiles on its pool bottom but pebbles and was served at that time by the then unpolluted waters of the River Test.
Over the decades, the lido was redeveloped and improved and in 1930 a major reconstruction took place, with tiles replacing the pebbles.
It contained a filtration house
A filtration house was built onsite to help deal with the black slicks of oil that were often found swirling around on Southampton Water.
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It was popular among residents
Throughout its existence, the lido enjoyed huge popularity.
Thousands poured through the turnstiles to lounge around on the terraces, enjoy a drink in the cafe and swim in the large pool.
Throughout its existence, the lido enjoyed huge popularity. Thousands poured through the turnstiles to lounge around on the terraces, enjoy a drink in the cafe and swim in the large pool.
The pool welcomed a high number of sun worshippers, and during one summer alone, saw 197,463 bathers – a few more than the previous year of 171,624.
It was so popular that floodlight bathing was called for, which would have been appropriate had it not been asked for during the war years in the blackout.
The high footfall provided a source of worry for the staff, being responsible for so many people.
They included non-swimming young children plunging in at the deep end wearing motorbike innertubes.
It closed a few times for a variety of reasons
The pool was closed from 1940 to 1942 because of smoke and grit from the nearby electricity generating station but it reopened in 1943 after repairs and a cleanup.
There were also a number of unfortunate incidents at the lido that could have spelt the end for the swimmers’ retreat.
It survived two fires in 1968 and 1969, and there was panic in 1930 when a 10-ton Southampton Corporation steamroller thundered across Western Esplanade and crashed into the walls of the baths.
It was a miracle that no one was killed as there were 15 men in the baths at the time.
It fell into a state of disrepair
During the 1950s, 60s and early 70s the lido pulled in massive summertime crowds but when it closed it quickly became a sorry sight until it was cleared away in the early 1980s.
Closure of the lido came as no surprise to the council or local swimmers, as they knew it had been living on borrowed time since 1973.
Each year workmen had patched it up but there was always the fear that something serious would happen. Then, in August 1976, it did.
The water in the deep areas of the pool became so murky that the lido had to be closed. A full investigation later revealed a complete collapse of the lido’s boiler and filtration plant.
The lido became a victim of high running and maintenance costs and was sadly forced to close in 1977.
There were different plans for the site
Plans were put forward to the city council to redevelop the site as either a skate park or an inner city angling centre but these ideas all came to nothing and the decision was made in the early 1980s to demolish the site.
As it was demolished, a fine indoor swimming and diving championship pool was in the process of development, just “down the road” (Harbour Road).
This pool was also pulled down after 40 years or so and in its place today stands an International swimming and diving complex including health, fitness and family fun – The Quays
Residents would like it back
The closure of the Southampton Lido was a blow to the city.
It was a popular place for people to swim, sunbathe, and relax.
The lido also played an important role in the city's history. It was a place where people from all walks of life came together to enjoy the outdoors.
There have been many calls to reopen the popular attraction over the years.
A petition was launched in 2017 that attracted more than 10,000 signatures.
However, the city council stated that it was not financially viable to open a lido.
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