With Active Nation UK Limited ceasing operations and Places Leisure stepping in to seamlessly transfer all memberships, bookings, and staff, we're taking a look back at the history of one of Southampton's most recogniseable leisure centres. 

These archive images capture the early days of one well-known local facility, The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex, all taken within a year of its 1999 opening.

For generations, the call of the water has been at the very heart of Southampton and its people. 

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While the city's coastal location could have offered natural spots for a dip, the docks, shipping and unpredictable British weather had other ideas. 

For well over a century, dedicated indoor swimming baths have provided year-round aquatic havens for residents, though their history hasn't always been smooth sailing – sometimes facing challenges as peculiar as an £8,000 bill just to change some lightbulbs!

Looking back 133 years ago, the desire for consistent, sheltered swimming facilities became undeniable. 

The existing seasonal lido, while popular in warmer months, left swimmers high and dry during colder spells. Addressing this need, the town - as it was back then - welcomed its first proper indoor baths. 

Constructed with Victorian ingenuity by George Brinton, these pioneering pools found their home alongside the outdoor lido on Western Esplanade. Facing Weymouth Terrace – a spot now occupied by the National Express coach station – swimmers of a bygone era enjoyed the novelty of indoor bathing, shielded from the elements. 

But progress waits for no one, and the baths were demolished in the very early 1960s to make way for other developments.

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Yet, the spirit of swimming in the town was far from extinguished. 

On a bright spring morning, March 24, 1962, a wave of excitement washed over Southampton. 

A crowd, numbering more than a thousand enthusiastic swimmers and local dignitaries, gathered for the grand unveiling of the brand new, state-of-the-art Southampton Central Baths. 

The air crackled with anticipation as the esteemed mayor, Alderman Gladys Barker, stepped forward to cut the ceremonial ribbon, marking a truly momentous occasion for the town. 

The celebrations continued inside, where a special commemorative plaque was revealed, before diving ace Tony Kitcher officially christened the pool in spectacular fashion, executing a breathtaking one-and-a-half somersault dive with a full twist.

These new baths boasted a feature that truly set them apart from others across the nation, capturing the public's imagination: the ability to watch swimmers underwater. 

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Five robust, 1.5-inch thick glass panels, engineered to withstand immense pressure (up to 5,000lb), were strategically placed, offering visitors in the foyer a captivating, aquarium-like glimpse into the aquatic world above. 

As eager swimmers queued, their anticipation grew, fuelled by the sight of others already revelling in the vast, Olympic-sized pool – one of only four in the country at the time capable of hosting international-standard swimming galas and water polo games. 

This impressive scale promised to be a major draw, attracting both casual swimmers and prestigious sporting events.

And attract them it did. The initial years were a resounding success. 

Final attendance figures for the 1962-63 season soared to 461,213 visitors – smashing original forecasts by more than 80,000. 

The Central Baths were truly the vibrant heart of Southampton's swimming community.

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However, tides can turn. Two decades later, the financial realities of maintaining such a large facility began to bite. 

Facing mounting losses, the city council initiated a significant transformation in 1987. 

The Southampton Central Baths underwent a major revamp and rebranding, emerging as 'Centre 2000'. 

In a bid to recapture public interest and justify increased admission fees, a thrilling new £500,000 water slide was installed – a splash of excitement designed to draw back the crowds. 

The gamble paid off; attendance figures promptly doubled, and by the year's end, visitor numbers were up by a remarkable 75 per cent.

Fast forward to the cusp of the new millennium, and Southampton was ready for another leap forward. 

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June 1999 saw the dazzling opening of The Quays - The Eddie Read Swimming and Diving Complex. 

This £10 million, cutting-edge facility was unveiled with an impressive laser show and diving performance, signalling a new era. 

Unlike its predecessors, which focused primarily on swimming, The Quays was designed with elite diving firmly in mind. 

It featured a recreational pool, an eight-lane, 25-meter competition pool, a dedicated diving tank with platforms up to 10 meters, alongside a health centre and fitness suite.

This strategic focus on diving soon attracted national competitions, cementing its reputation as a key training centre for aspiring athletes. 

The vision for this ambitious project belonged to the former city leisure boss, Eddie Read. 

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Tragically, he passed away before seeing his dream fully realised, but the complex was poignantly named in his honour. 

Its opening was an emotional moment for his wife Maureen and their family, witnessing his legacy come to life. 

Funding for this state-of-the-art complex was secured through a substantial £6 million grant from the Sports Lottery, supplemented by contributions from the city's Community Health Services NHS Trust.

But even the most modern designs can hide unexpected flaws. A few years after opening, The Quays hit the headlines for a rather illuminating problem: the lightbulbs high above the pool began to fail, and replacing them proved extraordinarily difficult and potentially costly.

Complex bosses wrestled with daunting options: drain the entire pool (a huge undertaking) and erect 20 meters of scaffolding, estimated at a staggering £30,000, or attempt the complex engineering feat of propping up the pool's movable floor to support the scaffolding's weight.

As deliberations dragged on over several months due to cost and logistical hurdles, the lights across the vast ceiling gradually flickered out, plunging parts of the pool into gloom. 

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Just when it seemed an expensive solution was inevitable, local ingenuity came to the rescue. 

Southampton firm Finest Access Services devised a brilliant, bespoke solution. They constructed a unique rolling support structure that spanned the width of the pool, allowing a workman safe access to climb up and replace the defunct bulbs. Crucially, the scaffold was on wheels, enabling it to be moved easily along the pool's length to reach every fitting. 

The best part? This clever fix cost just £8,000, saving the city council an estimated £22,000 and restoring brightness to the pool.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the only early design hiccup. In February 2000, the brand-new complex was poised to host its first major sporting event - the UK's Winter National Diving Championships. 

However, embarrassment loomed when it was discovered that the ten-metre diving platform was one meter too narrow to meet the requirements for Olympic synchronised diving events. In an ironic twist for a facility built with diving prowess in mind, the prestigious competition had to be relocated to Sheffield.

Despite facing financial pressures, demolition threats, and even perplexing design quirks like pricey lightbulbs and narrow diving boards, the splash of swimmers continues to be a familiar sound in the heart of Southampton 133 years on.