Grange Lido is an open-air 50 m sea-water swimming pool, or lido, in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1932 and closed in 1993, but campaigners are working to see it re-opened as a swimming pool. [1] The lido is in Art Deco style, and is grade II listed. [2]
The lido opened in 1932. The buildings were designed by Grange-over-Sands Urban District Council's surveyor, named Bernard Smith [2] or Thomas Huddlestone. [3] The lido sits on Grange promenade on the shore of Morecambe Bay, although as of 2019 [update] the changing course of the River Kent means that the sea is at some distance from the promenade, separated by salt marsh. The 165 ft × 112 ft (50 m × 34 m) [3] pool was filled with filtered sea-water at high tide, and was unheated. [2]
The buildings are in Art Deco style. Historic Pools of Britain describes the lido as "A very fine intact Art Deco mushroom shaped lido in a stunning setting on the edge of Morecambe Bay". [1]
English Heritage state the reasons for the lido's grade II listing in 2011 as:
- Completeness: as a complete example of a 1930s lido with the survival of all key ancillary buildings and structures
- Pool: for the unusually shaped pool, designed for multiple uses and which retains its original stepped diving stage.
- Historic: as an evocative reminder of the former popularity of sea-side towns such as Grange over Sands and the inter-war cult of fresh air, fitness and mass leisure [2]
Pevsner's The Buildings of England (revised ed. 2010), within its description of Grange promenade, simply says "Lido, 1933, closed 1992, and now very forlorn". [4]
The lido suffered damage from floods in 1977, when the outer wall was breached, but celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1982 with a special gala. [5]
The lido closed in 1993, [2] after a report suggested that necessary repairs would be too expensive to be justified. [5]
In 2011 the Save Grange Lido campaign was established, aiming to "transform it into a vibrant community owned leisure facility with a restored 50m pool at its heart." [6] [7] The group has produced a detailed business plan setting out how it believes this could be achieved. [8] It is a community benefit society. [6]
In 2015 South Lakeland District Council began to consider future uses for the site which would not include a swimming facility: the pool area was to become a "landscaped open space". [9] In February 2019 the council allocated £2million for "light touch refurbishment" of the lido, to include making it structurally sound, bringing it back into public use, and providing refurbished units for community groups or entrepreneurs. [10]
Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 census to 4,114. Historically part of Lancashire, the town was created as an urban district in 1894. Since the 1974 local government re-organisation, it has been of the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, though it remains part of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, historically part of Westmorland, near the border with Lancashire, England. The Lake District National Park is located a few miles North. Travelling by road, Arnside is 22 miles (35 km) to the south of Kendal, 25.3 miles (40.7 km) to the east of Ulverston, 35.2 miles (56.6 km) to the east of Barrow-in-Furness, 15.7 miles (25.3 km) to the west of Lancaster and 14.3 miles (23.0 km) to the east of Grange-over-Sands. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,301, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,334.
Grange-over-Sands is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster. The station, situated 15+1⁄2 miles (25 km) north-west of Lancaster, serves the town of Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Kents Bank is a small village in Cumbria, England, so named for its proximity to the River Kent estuary. Part of the historic County Palatine of Lancashire, it is located 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Grange-over-Sands.
The Droitwich Spa Lido is a lido in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, England. It is one of the few remaining inland, open-air salt-water swimming pools in the UK.
Lindale - traditionally Lindale in Cartmel - is a village in the south of Cumbria. It lies on the north-eastern side of Morecambe Bay, England. It was part of Lancashire from 1182 to 1974. It is in the civil parish of Lindale and Newton-in-Cartmel, in South Lakeland district.
Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of central Brighton, 5 miles (8 km) west of Newhaven, and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Lewes. It is bordered by farmland and the South Downs National Park.
Tinside Lido is a 1935 Art Deco lido in the city of Plymouth in south-west England. It is sited beside Plymouth Sound and is overlooked by Plymouth Hoe and Smeaton's Tower. The lido is open in the summer months between May and September.
Morecambe is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Meathop is a village in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it is located 3.6 miles (5.8 km) north east of Grange over Sands, between the confluence of the River Kent estuary and the River Winster on the edge of Morecambe Bay.
The Lido in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire was first opened as the Corporation Swimming Pool in 1936 by the Mayor of Peterborough Arthur Mellows, and is one of the few survivors of its type still in use in the United Kingdom. A striking building with elements of art deco design, the Lido and surrounding gardens cover an area of roughly two and a half acres, lying adjacent to the embankment of the River Nene, south of the city centre. Designed in the "hacienda style", it is considered one of the finest surviving examples in England.
Humphrey Head is a limestone outcrop situated south of the village of Allithwaite in Cumbria, England. It is whale-back-shaped and accessible for walkers, giving views over Morecambe Bay to Lancaster, Morecambe, Heysham and over the Leven estuary to Ulverston. There is an Ordnance Survey trig point at the top.
Saltdean Lido at Saltdean Park Road, Saltdean, in the Brighton and Hove district, in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England, is an Art Deco lido designed by architect R.W.H. Jones. Originally listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance, its status was upgraded further to "Grade II*" on 18 March 2011.
Tarlair Swimming Pool is a disused lido at the base of a sea cliff just outside Macduff in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. This outdoor swimming complex was built in an Art Deco style with a main building backing onto the cliffs and changing rooms to its left hand side. It is considered by Historic Environment Scotland to be the best example of only three surviving outdoor seaside pools in Scotland, the others being at Stonehaven and Gourock.
The golden age of lidos in the United Kingdom was in the 1930s, when outdoor swimming became popular, and 169 were built across the UK as recreational facilities by local councils. Many lidos closed when foreign holidays became less expensive, but those that remain have a dedicated following.
Pools on the Park is a Grade II listed swimming pool and leisure facility in Old Deer Park in Richmond, London. Construction on the 6.5-acre (2.6 ha) site started in 1964 and was completed in 1966; the architect was Leslie Gooday. The pool replaced the previous Richmond baths nearby which had been built in Parkshot in 1882.
Lindale and Newton-in-Cartmel, formerly Upper Allithwaite is a civil parish in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. The spelling Lindale and Newton in Cartmel, without hyphens, is used by the parish council.
Grange-over-Sands is a civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. It contains 51 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The major settlement in the parish is the town of Grange-over-Sands, which developed as a holiday resort after the arrival of the Furness Railway in 1857. Elsewhere the parish contains the villages of Kents Bank and Lindale, and the surrounding countryside. Inside the town the listed buildings include houses, shops, a café, hotels, churches, a railway station, public buildings, a bank, a bandstand, a clock tower, and a disused lido. Outside the town are farmhouses and farm buildings, a country house and associated structures, and a limekiln.
Jubilee Pool is an Art Deco lido in Penzance, Cornwall. It is Grade II listed, being recognised as the finest surviving example of its type with the exception of Saltdean Lido. With a capacity of 5 million litres and 600 swimmers and measuring 300 feet long and 160 feet wide, it is the UK's largest seawater pool.
Media related to Grange-over-Sands Lido at Wikimedia Commons