Lido

The South Bay Pool, Scarborough, February 2003. Lido : Latin ‘litus’ : literal translation ‘shore’.

The idea of a specific time reserved for leisure originated in the1930’s. Contemporary medical theories believing in the benefits of fresh air and sunlight encouraged the pursuit of open-air pursuits and led to the establishment of a number of outdoor pools with amenities. The more elaborate examples were called Lidos, a term borrowed from the famous bathing resort at Venice. The South Bay Pool at Scarborough was designed by Harry W. Smith, Borough Engineer (1893-1930). It was the largest outdoor pool in Europe, construction was begun in 1914 and completed the following year. The changing rooms with their pillars, tiles and circular windows, the pool fountains and various associated bungalows were added in the 1930’s.

The pool reached it’s heyday in the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s. School swimming Galas were still held there in the 1970’s, although I’m informed the water was freezing and the changing rooms clammy. By this time we had got used to our pools being both heated and indoors. The pool was finally closed in 1989. It lay derelict, festooned in barbed wire throughout the 1990’s, an obsolete reminder of a different way of life.

Listing for the South Bay Pool was turned down in the summer of 2002, and the pool filled with rubble and sand in the summer of 2003.

Hand developed black and white photographs taken during the summers of 1997-2000 show the pool and it’s surrounding buildings in the last throws of disintegration. Festooned with barbed wire and Keep Off notices the water is black and oily. The fountains a major feature of the pool, were resurrected as transparent images on the gallery windows a last memory before final demolition.

The South Bay Pool, Scarborough, June 2003.