4 July 2008
Hampstead Heath lido celebrates 70 years
Sunday 13 July 2008, 1- 6pm
Parliament Hill Lido, off Gordon House Road
Hampstead Heath, London NW5
Nearest train station, Gospel Oak
Nearest Tube station, Kentish Town
The Parliament Hill lido on Hampstead Heath is 70 years old this
summer and to celebrate there will be a day of family fun on Sunday
13 July 2008.
The anniversary day will start at 1pm on Sunday 13 July with a
host of events. South American band Gui Tavares will be providing a
taste of the exotic with live music throughout the afternoon, while
rookie lifeguards will put on a display of their skills. A water
polo match will take place between local teams, with onlookers
encouraged to join in and have a free training session.
If the hunger pangs strike, there will be a pool-side BBQ by the
café, then after lunch why not treat yourself with a chair massage.
For children, there will be a host of activities including face
painting.
An exhibition of archival material charting the history of the
lido will also be on display in the entrance foyer.
The Grade II listed, Art Deco pool officially opened to the
public on 20 August 1938 with a grand ceremony presided over by the
then-Secretary of the Football Association, Stanley Rouse. It was
the twelfth of a total of 13 such outdoor pools built by the London
County Council between 1906 and 1939. With a total build cost of
£34,000 it was the most expensive.
The pool remained open throughout WW2 and during its heyday in
the 1950s and 1960s it saw more than 100,000 visitors a year cross
its threshold. The lido passed to the Corporation of London (now
called City of London) in 1989 when the Corporation took over the
running of Hampstead Heath from the London Residual Body.
Since then, the City has spent almost £3million refurbishing the
pool, giving it a state-of-the-art filtration system and brand new,
stainless steel lining. The lining has helped raise the residual
temperature of the unheated water and to save more than 100,000
litres a day of water that was being lost through tile cracks.
In 2005 the City Corporation pledged to give £1.425million
towards the cost of restoring the historic fabric of this Grade II
listed building, on the understanding it would be used to try and
obtain match-funding by an external body. The City is now in the
process of applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund and BIG Lottery’s
Parks for People initiative for capital funding which, if
successful will be part of a bigger programme of works for the
entire Parliament Hill triangle area including restoration of the
Lido building.
Bob Hall, Chairman of Hampstead Heath Management Committee
(which runs the lido), said: "The Parliament Hill lido is a real
jewel in London’s crown and the City is proud to be its custodian.
We look forward to taking care of it for another 70 years to ensure
it remains a wonderful family facility for all Londoners – and
visitors – to enjoy.
"Come and join us in the celebrations on 13 July."
Ends
Notes to editors:
See attached note for history and background to the lido.
- Uncovered, unheated pool.
- Water temperature (as at 27 June 2008) – 19 degrees C.
- Pool opened all year round – Winter (October to end of April) –
7am to Noon only. Summer – 7am to 6pm. Open for adult lane swimming
on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays until 8pm.
Charges:
- Mornings (7-9am): Free for under 16s/over 65s.
- Evenings/Winter swim: £2/£1
- Summer day swim: £4.30/£2.70 (family ticket £12.80)
- Full year season ticket: £123/£77
- Summer season ticket: £89/£41
The City of London supports and promotes the Square Mile as the
world’s leading international financial and business centre and
provides local government and police services for workers,
residents and visitors. It also provides valued services to London
and the nation as a whole including management of Guildhall Art
Gallery, the Barbican Centre, the Central Criminal Court at Old
Bailey, 10,700 acres/4,240 hectares of open space (including
Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest), three wholesale food markets
and acts as London’s Port Health Authority.
Parliament Hill Lido, Hampstead Heath 70th anniversary -
briefing sheet
Updated: 1 July 2008 Background and context of the Lido
movement:
(NB – Italian pronunciation of the word is ’leedo’ but in its
modern context either ‘leedo’ or ‘lydo’ are used
interchangeably.)
The Parliament Hill lido was built in a time of great popularity
for the movement for improving general welfare and public health of
the population (particularly in cities).
Entry fees were either low or non-existent to encourage use of
the pools.
The concept came of open-air pools came from the original Lido
in Venice a strip of natural beach which became very popular as an
urban retreat post-WW1.
The outdoor swimming/sunbathing/healthy living ethos grew in
Weimar Germany and spread to Britain in the 1930s. While many of
these outdoor pools were built by the seaside, town lidos
(especially in London) were seen as a working-class leisure
facility, promoting cleanliness and healthy exercise.
General historical facts:
- Opened 20 August 1938 by Mr Stanley Rous, Secretary of the
Football Association (no-one, including SR, knew at the time why he
was chosen to open it!)
- Art Deco facility cost £34,000 to build as part of London
County Council’s programme of building outdoor pools in the
capital.
- PH lido was the 12th of 13 lidos in total commissioned by the
LCC (1906-1939) and was the most expensive to build.
- Architects were Harry Rowbotham and TL Smithson (chief
designers at LCC Parks Department).
- Original size – 200ft (60.9m) by 90ft (18.3m) by 2ft 6in (80cm)
deep rising to 9ft 6 in (2.8m) deep.
- During renovations of 2005, depth of pool reduced to max of 2m
to help with faster filtration and retain residual heat. Also
believed to be more appropriate for family use.
- Parliament Hill lido stayed open throughout WW2 and enjoyed one
of its most popular periods in 1950s and 1960s when attendances
clocked more than 100,000 people a year.
- It remained open during the 1980s when many of London’s lidos
were closed as they declined in popularity and councils found them
too expensive to run.
- During the heatwave of Summer 2006, more than 80,000 people
visited the lido (May to September) – more than 2,000 a day at the
weekends.
Ownership:
- LCC then GLC (Greater London Council) until 1986.
- London Residual Body – 1986-89.
- 1989 – passed from LRB to then-Corporation of London (which
took over the running of all of Hampstead Heath, rather than the
local Camden Council.)
- 1999 – awarded Grade II listing.
- 2004/05 – Corporation of London spends £2.9 million upgrading
the pool – reducing the depth of the pool, installing a
state-of-the-art filtration system, retiling the perimeter of the
pool and relining the pool in reflective stainless steel (the first
outdoor pool in the UK to have such a lining) to help maintain
water temperature and reduce water leakage. Previously, more than
100,000 litres of water a day was disappearing through cracks. The
new filtration system now turns over 650,000 litres of water in
just four hours – a third of the time it took the previous system,
and making it cleaner and more hygienic.
- The refurbishment work took eight months and was undertaken by
Orpington-based Neilcott Construction. The firm had to overcome a
number of logistical issues, including a planning restriction which
precluded the creation of any access into the pool area, which
meant steel, concrete, and machinery all had to be craned into
position.
- 28 May 2005 – Lido reopens after refurbishment.
Original facilities:
- 178 cubicles and 1,072 lockers plus two large store rooms for
952 clothes baskets.
- Access to the pool is by hygienic wading pool.
- Also small children’s paddling pool.
- Provision was made for the hiring of bathing costumes and
towels.
- The pool itself was lined with blue-glazed bricks. The surround
with buff hand-made, pre-cast paving slabs.
- 5metre diving board, 3 metre fixed and spring boards and 1
metre fixed and spring boards as well as ordinary diving board and
chutes for adults and children.
- Service buildings incl ambulance room, committee room, staff
mess room, filter house and stores.
- Two sunbathing terraces for spectators.
- Café with servery kitchen.
- Water was aerated by passing over an ornamental fountain.
- Initially free to use. Mostly single-sex sessions. Mixed
bathing on Summer Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and
bank holidays (10am to closing time). 6d entry charge.
- In the Winter, early morning bathing only open to men and
boys!
Current facilities/stats:
- Uncovered, unheated pool.
- Water temperature (as at 27 June 2008) – 19 degrees C.
- Pool opened all year round – Winter (October to end of April) –
7am to Noon only.
- Summer – 7am to 6pm. Open for adult lane swimming on Mondays,
Thursdays and Fridays until 8pm.
Charges:
- Mornings (7-9am): Free for under 16s/over 65s.
- Evenings/Winter swim: £2/£1
- Summer day swim: £4.30/£2.70 (family ticket £12.80)
- Full year season ticket: £123/£77
- Summer season ticket: £89/£41
Press enquiries to Lesley Mair. T: 020 7332 1754/ M: 07785 528
453 E:
lesley.mair@cityoflondon.gov.uk