Historic Pools of Britain – June Review

Event Review

Aberdeenshire has been the focus of a two-day HPB trip, that enabled participants to enjoy a behind the scenes tour of Bon Accord Baths and a day in Stonehaven to mark the 90th birthday of Stonehaven Outdoor Pool.

Behind the Scenes at Bon Accord Baths

It was clear that no-one was quite prepared for the wow factor that awaits as you walk through the doors to the Art Deco pool hall of the Grade B-listed Bon Accord Baths – partly because it has to be seen in person to really appreciate.

It’s an entry that positions you as if standing on the bridge of a liner and then the vast pool hall expanse lays before you in all its glory; the wooden spectator seats not unlike those you’d see onboard a liner. At the far end are the diving boards and such is the significance of the drop below that there is a rope in place for anyone that ventures down to pull themselves out of the empty pool!

Just as unexpected was the vastness of the corresponding rooms; studio spaces, seemingly endless rows of changing rooms and quirks like foot washes of a type no-one in the group had seen before all on the ground floor. Upstairs there was a labyrinth of corridors and rooms, many of which would have been used for treatments, with wellbeing one of the important functions of Bon Accord. Bon Accord Heritage is now working towards securing a sustainable future for this majestic heritage treasure and we look forward to following that journey.

Welcome to Stonehaven

After an evening meal enjoyed on the beautiful harbour of Stonehaven, the second day began at Stonehaven Community Centre. As an aside, a talking point amongst attendees was about what a good use of a former school (built in 1875) the community centre was, with a brilliant café run by the Community Collective in the very welcoming Living Room.

Marking 90 years of Stonehaven Open Air Pool

Stephen Harris, Chair of Friends of Stonehaven Open Air Pool, opened the morning with a history of the pool and the more recent endeavours that have taken place to celebrate its 90th birthday. The arrangement at Stonehaven Open Air Pool is a great example of a council and friends organisation working in partnership, so there were a lot of learnings to be shared.

Like many lidos it was built at speed, responding to a poll of householders who had voted in favour of a pool in 1933, it was opened to the public the following year. If Google reviews were a thing back in the 1930s they would have picked up on the water quality, which was only changed every couple of days and so the following year filtration, circulation and disinfection were introduced!

The pool remained open during WWII very much for reasons of morale and it was after the war that habitats gradually started to change. By the 1980s the season had been considerably reduced and by 1994 the pool was facing a questionable future. But the community was still certain that it wanted a pool and so a campaign group was set up that would eventually lead to the foundation of the Friends of Stonehaven Open Air Pool. Now, whilst the running of the pool is done by Aberdeenshire Council, all of the activity that’s required to enhance the pool is carried out by the Friends. It’s a success story that is reminiscent of the partnership approach between Wychavon District Council and the Friends of Droitwich Spa Lido at Droitwch Spa Lido, and both are great sources of inspiration.

Of course the backbone to these successes are the role of volunteers and we saw the results of the thousands of hours of volunteer time that goes into maintaining the pool at Stonehaven to a high standard later in the afternoon. From the fresh paintwork to the planting of the flower beds around the pool, this is all carried out by the Friends and the results are truly wonderful.

A Fascinating insight into the history of Arlington Baths Club

One of the special things about Historic Pools of Britain is the shared learnings and the topic of different models of operation continued. It was a delight to be joined by Lucy Janes who is a member of the history group at Arlington Baths Club, which has been owned and run by its members since it was founded in July 1870 as the Glasgow Swimming Baths Company, with the purpose of raising the money to build a swimming complex. It did this with the issue of shares, of which there were seven original subscribers. Again the build process was quick, John Burnet was commissioned as architect and by the September the building was being erected and although frost in the winter caused a delay, on 1 August 1871 Arlington Baths Club opened. At this time the Arlington Baths Swimming Club rented the Baths from the Company. There were 500 members in place, who were very much the elite of Glasgow. In 1873 Arlington responded to the growing trend for Turkish Baths and commissioned Charles Drake, a pioneer in concrete, to undertake the project. One of the resulting highlights, the Turkish Warm Room, was refurbished in 2015 and shows off the curved ceiling of which Drake was so proud.

Arlington’s example inspired the creation of four other private baths clubs in Glasgow including fellow HPB member The Western Baths Club. In fact it was thanks to a loan from Western Baths that the Turkish Baths work was able to take place. In 2014 the Baths was Grade A-listed and remains a membership based organisation, with changes including the acceptance of women to join the management Board from the 1970s and the ending of new members requiring a proposer and a seconder from 2011. The Baths is now very much looking forward to the future as it works towards Glasgow City Council’s target for all buildings to be net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Introducing Edinburgh Leisure’s heritage pools

Our morning presentations took us on a virtual tour of historic pools around Scotland, more of which will be seen first hand during future HPB events. Next stop was Edinburgh and the chance to hear more about how its six heritage pools fit into the dynamics of the city from Jo Mathieson, Head of Facilities Management for Edinburgh Leisure. As a council Edinburgh has continued to maintain and invest in its historic pools; they are an intrinsic part of the fabric of the city for both residents and visitors.

Edinburgh’s heritage pools are managed by Edinburgh Leisure along with a portfolio that includes sports and leisure venues, golf clubs, soft play centres and more. The public provision of baths and washhouses only became possible in 1880 after Parliament passed the Edinburgh Municipal and Police Act of 1879. The Act allowed for the ‘purchase, feu, lease or other acquisition of lands’ for baths, washhouses, gymnasiums, bleaching and drying greens. However, it was not until 1887 that the first publicly funded and operated baths were opened at Infirmary Street, built at a cost of £8,000 there were two pools and a small laundry. Infirmary Street Baths is still intact, but now operates as Dovecot Studios, however, the majority of those early pools are still operational under Edinburgh Council ownership.

Jo shared details of the investment that has been and continues to be made into these pools. These include Dalry Swim Centre (1898), which was refurbished in 2018, Leith Victoria Swim Centre (1899), which was refurbished in 2020, Warrender Swim Centre (1888) which was refurbished in 2022 and plans are currently being put in place for Portobello Swim Centre(1901), which was last refurbished in 1998. Like Arlington Baths, environmental efficiency is also important to the pools in Edinburgh and there is an ongoing programme in place, with some of the work made possible by Salix Investments.

Lift off for the second edition of the Lido Guide

An uplifting morning was given the perfect finale with a celebration for the publication of the second edition of the Lido Guide introduced by co-author Emma Pusill. Excitingly it includes the addition of nine new pools, which were not operational when the first edition was published in 2019, including HPB member Cleveland Pools in Bath.

It turns out that it was only right that this was an occasion that should be marked at Stonehaven…to everyone’s delight Emma shared an image taken of co-author Janet Wilkinson’s school book from the 1970s in which she had written about her holiday to Stonehaven and how she would be in the swimming pool all the time! Early inspiration for what was to come! For Emma herself the event was also in part a revisiting of a trip that she undertook during the research stages of the Lido Guide.

HPB has been a proud supporter of the Lido Guide, which as part of its 2019 launch enjoyed an event at the Houses of Parliament hosted by former MP of Pontypridd and supporter of Lido Ponty, Owen Smith. This was a fabulous occasion at which our own founder Gill Wright spoke.

A sunny Stonehaven send off

After all that talk of lidos it was time to swim in one and under sunny blue skies swimming in Stonehaven Outdoor Pool was magic – the colourful fresh paintwork gleaming in all its glory. And as a final note we wish to send a thank you to Stephen Harris for all his efforts in helping with the organisation of this trip.