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Lost Lidos

Anne Jessel

master brummie
I have a website on Lost Lidos and I'm anxious to find any pictures of Sutton Park Lido and swimming in Keepers Pool. Please can anyone help?
 
Bourneville Lido

Has anyone any pictures of Bourneville Lido? and the Cadbury's old indoor swimming bath? I'd be very interested to hear from you.
 
Anne, Before they were called lido's they were called open-air pools and the first one in Birmingham to be installed by Birmingham Corporation was in 1873 at Cannon hill Park close to the two boating pools....the pool was fed by a small stream which had its source in the park but rumors went round it was fed by the River Rea and that belief persisted till it closed down in 1939...the River Rea was close by but it was 6 ft below the pool level.
The Second "Lido" was opened in 1883 on 9th July in Victoria Park Small Heath, 3 ft at the shallow end and 6 ft at the deep end and designed much like the one in Cannon Hill Park but sadly that shut in 1939 as well
The Third one at Brookvale Park opened in 1909 and was made out of the disused reservoir and used till 1926....all 3 pools were shut down by concerning heath fears but the truth of the matter was that the City would not pay to install the filtration and chlorination plants that were needed...
 
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Hi Anne: Yes no problem with the Woodcock Street bath post being on your site. I actually used two swimming baths in Birmingham very frequently when I was growing up. I lived close to Witton Lakes Park growing up off Marsh Hill, Erdington, a lovely area with the Brookvale Park close by as well. That one, as you know, contained the lido which was popular in the l930's.
I learned to swim at Kingstanding Baths. This would have been in the late l940's. This was a very up to date centre in it's day. I don't believe it is a swimming baths now. Back then though it had a huge swimming poool with two levels of diving boards. One of them was very high, not sure of the actual metre measurements. They also had a small children's pool away from the main pool and that was where I learned to swim no lessons at that point just a wonderful moment when suddenly I was swimming. Remember that so well. I'm not sure if there were many pools in Brum that had a small pool as well as a large one. I am sure you have seen the Wikipedia site on Birmingham Baths at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Baths_Committee There is a little information on Erdington Baths.

Erdington Baths in Mason Road was where I also spent a lot of time in the early years and when I attended Fentham Girls School in the l950's for lessons. They held what they called "Sessions" and you had to queue
up when it was very hot as a lot of kids wanted to swim. I think the
sessions lasted an hour. We always used to go to the Snack Bar for
either hot Oxo in a mug or a mug of Hot Cocoa for a couple of pennies. It
was always welcome since the water wasn't that warm and we weren't very big and felt the cold. These days Erdington Baths still has some Victorian Turkish Bath facilities https://www.victorianturkishbath.org/0NOWOPEN/NowOpenSF.htm
 
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Wed were

Hi Anne: I tried twice to reply to your PMessage sent today and I am not sure if anything "went through". I will reply here.

Hi Anne: Yes no problem with the Woodcock Street bath post being on your site. I actually used two swimming baths in Birmingham very frequently when I was growing up. I lived close to Witton Lakes Park growing up off Marsh Hill, Erdington, a lovely area with the Brookvale Park close by as well. That one, as you know, contained the openair lido which was popular in the l930's.
I learned to swim at Kingstanding Baths. This would have been in the late l940's. This was a very up to date centre in it's day. I don't believe it is a swimming baths now. Back then though it had a huge swimming poool with two levels of diving boards. One of them was very high, not sure of the actual metre measurements. They also had a small children's pool away from the main pool and that was where I learned to swim no lessons at that point just a wonderful moment when suddenly I was swimming. Remember that so well. I'm not sure if there were many pools in Brum that had a small pool as well as a large one. I am sure you have seen the Wikipedia site on Birmingham Baths at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Baths_Committee There is a little information on Erdington Baths.

Erdington Baths in Mason Road was where I also spent a lot of time in the early years and when I attended Fentham Girls School in the l950's for lessons. They held what they called "Sessions" and you had to queue
up when it was very hot as a lot of kids wanted to swim. I think the
sessions lasted an hour. We always used to go to the Snack Bar for
either hot Oxo in a mug or a mug of Hot Cocoa for a couple of pennies. It
was always welcome since the water wasn't that warm and we weren't very big and felt the cold. These days Erdington Baths still has some Victorian Turkish Bath facilities https://www.victorianturkishbath.org/0NOWOPEN/NowOpenSF.htm

We were always curious about the Turkish Baths. My Mother used to go
from time time and that would have been in the l950's and even later
as she used to go with the Town's Women Guild of which she was a member
in Erdington for several years.

I also have super memories of the Lido at Cliftonville where we had two family holidays. Just seeing a huge open air pool like that after the closed in ones was amazing. My parents used to sit and watch my brothers and I
(me trying to swim at that stage and putting my one leg on the bottom
and shouting for them to watch me "swimming". Lovely memories.

With most of the Lidos in Britain now history all is not lost. We have a lido type pool here in Vancouver. It is quite large and is fed by treated sea water one of the few in the world. There is also another one in Stanley Park but it is more an outdoor pool(smaller).
https://images.google.ca/images?q=K...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
 
I went to St Augustine's Catholic School for four years and we went to Handsworth Baths on Grove lane for our swimming lessons. I can't say I ever enjoyed it as I was scared of the deep end and we were made to swim across it. I never felt it was an inviting place. Mo
 
I grew up near to Hill Hook Road and used to go cray fishing in the stream with my friends in the early 60's. I think the pool was behind the shops on Clarence road. I never knew it was once used as Lido facinating. There was a white house near the pool which I think was originally the mill. It was privatley owned by this time and we used to get chased off by the gamekeeper Mr Medlam, he would march around with his gun over his shoulder. All the ground in the area was marshy I lost shoes there in the mud. Its now a housing estate!
I went to Arthur Terry School in Sutton we used to be bused to Tamworth Lido for swimming lessons it was freezing sometimes but I loved it. When I moved to Tamworth in the early 70's I took my son's to Tamworth Lido I thought it was a great day out............sadly another one gone!
 
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Moma P. I also have good memories of Tamworth Lido. Your post reminded me of it. My youngest brother and I used to cycle to Tamworth Lido from Erdington.:Aah: A hard grind on bikes without gears. We didn't have very long at the Lido before we had to get back on our bikes and face those hills on the way home. Shame it's no longer there.
 
Hello Anne,

No-one seems to have mentioned the outdoor pool/lido at Stechford baths, the baths were built in 1963. When my sons were small, a crowd of us moms from Yardley used to pack up a picnic and take the children to the lido for the day, there was grass all around the edge of the pool where we used to sit on blankets and have our picnic. What lovely memories. :)

Rita
 
Thanks for that Ann it did bring back some memories of Tamworth Lido! My Dad's family were keen swimmers in Aston. His brother Austin Jennings was a diver this would have been in the 1920's I remember Dad telling me that he would hold is brothers head in a bucket for training to improve his breathing. The family used to say he would dive off anything into a damp sponge. His sister Gwendoline won many prizes. My cousin has a photo of her posing in her costume in the 20's. Dad told me she was going to swim the channel but she got scared and didn't go through with it, though he said she could have done it! It's suprising how these threads prompt memories.
 
Memories

MomaP,
What a lovely story! I also remember something about having one's head stuffed into a bucket to learn breathing technique. There was a trick too to lower the bucket onto the bottom of the pool in such a way to maintain the air inside , and flummax an audience as to how long you could stay down there with your head inside!
Please let the memories keep coming.
Anne
 
H-e-l-p

Anyone that knows the Shirley or Solihull area well, anyone remember the Shirley Lido -I've got some info. but I'd love more. Alternatatively (doesn't look right) any info. on Solihull Lido???
Shirley Lido looked a lovely little pool, visited some while ago - accidently discovered by my sister whilst out on a walk. Now LIDO HOUSE a small printing works.
Any news please!
Thanks Anne
 
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Bourneville Lido

I have been comparing Postied's aerial photo of the Rowheath Pavilion and the Lido (which Jennyann kindly directed me to) and I have looked up the post code up on Google Earth.
It shows the area encircled by Heath Road and Long wood, and an area suspiciously like the site of the Lido. Would anyone agree with me?
I remember getting off the bus with my mother at Heath Road and the pool was just there. It was then a very sleepy, leafy suburbia. Judging by the picture supplied by Postied although much later for me in the 50's I remember it just like Postied's picture. If I'm correct, looking at Google it looks very built upon now.
Anne
 
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Hi Anne,

Here are the photo's I hope they are of use to you. I'm afraid the quality is not too great.

pmc1947

SmallHeath4.jpg
SmallHeath3.jpg


SmallHeath2.jpg
SmallHeath1.jpg
 
I loved going to Keepers. If I remember right there was a diving board into the main pool from the front area in your photo and a wooden raft in the centre! Oh those summers!
 
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Yes Moma-p, that would be in the late 50's they removed the boards & raft when the lake became unsafe due to bad water quality, (& I think, no one would have to pay for a Guy in a boat to be on the lake for the odd one or two useing it. HEALTH & SAFETY).
I spent many hours diveing from that raft & boards. All now in the memory banks of time.
ASTON
 
This is another lido we used to go to in the 60s, DROITWICH Salt water lido.
The two pictured in the fore ground are my girlfriend (later my wife) & I.
We spent most Sundays in Droitwich, after keeper become so run down.
I am so pleased Droitwich has now reopend & Ihope many youngster have as much joy from it as we did back then.
ASTON
 
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