Brockwell Lido
| Brockwell Lido | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of Brockwell Lido | |
| 51°27′11″N 0°06′23″W / 51.453056°N 0.106389°W | |
| Location | Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, Lambeth, SE24 0PA |
| Opened | 1937 |
| Operated by | Fusion Lifestyle Ltd |
| Architect | Rowbotham & Smithson |
| Type | open air |
| Status | Grade II Listed |
| Length | 164 feet (50 m) |
| Website | https://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/brockwell-lido/ |
| Facilities | |
| Gym, hydrotherapy pool, cafe | |
Brockwell Lido is a large lido in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, London. It opened in July 1937, closed in 1990 and after a local campaign was re-opened in 1994. Since 2003, it has been managed on behalf of Lambeth Council by Fusion Lifestyle.[1]
The Lido Cafe looks out onto the pool.[2]
History
Brockwell Lido was designed by Harry Rowbotham and T. L. Smithson in the Moderne style for the London County Council's Parks Department. It replaced the Brockwell Park bathing pond and is almost identical in design to the Victoria Park Lido in Hackney. It opened in July 1937.
The lido closed in 1990 due to cost-saving measures by Lambeth Borough Council. The lido management was put out for tender and two former council employees won the contract and reopened the lido in 1994.[3][4]
The lido has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since July 2003.[5]
In 2001, the Evian logo was painted on the pool floor in a sponsorship deal worth £110,000. In 2005, £500,000 was awarded from the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the £2.5 million redevelopment.[3]
2001 was also the year Brockwell Lido Users Group were officially formed as a pressure group to save the lido.[6][7]
In 2003 Fusion Lifestyle won the competitive tender from Lambeth Council to refurbish the lido and create an all year round leisure complex at the site. A newly built gym, spa and fitness studios were constructed over four years and the newly expanded Brockwell Lido site was reopened in October 2007.[8]
In 2012 the Brockwell Icicles winter swimming group reformed and campaigned for all year round swimming.[9]
The Brockwell Swimmers club was formed in January 2016 by a group of lido users keen to see more swimming activities.[10]
On 25 July 2019, amidst record high temperatures across the UK,[11] the police were called as around 500 people tried to "storm" the Lido.[12]
In popular culture
The lido is featured in a 1995 episode of the acclaimed BBC series Modern Times, directed by Lucy Blakstad.[13][14]
See also
Bibliography
- Bradley, Peter (2007), Out of the blue: a celebration of Brockwell Park Lido 1937–2007, BLU, ISBN 978-0-9556270-0-2
Footnotes
- ^ "Welcome to Brockwell Lido". Fusion-lifestyle.com.
- ^ "The Lido Café". Time Out. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ a b Janet Smith (2006), Liquid assets: the lidos and open air swimming pools of Britain, English Heritage, p. 138, ISBN 978-0-9547445-0-2
- ^ "Brockwell Lido back in the pink". The Independent. 30 May 1994.
- ^ Historic England, "Brockwell Lido (1390519)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 December 2017
- ^ Brockwell Lido Users Group (BLU) Archived 18 December 2003 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Brockwell Lido Users". Brockwelllido.com.
- ^ "Brockwell Lido splashes back". BBC News.
- ^ "Club of the Month – Brockwell Icicles". Outdoorswimmer.com. 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Brockwell Swimmers - A Swimming Club based at the iconic Brockwell Lido in Herne Hill, South London". Brockwellswimmers.com.
- ^ Osborne, Samuel (24 July 2019). "UK weather latest: Britain braces for 'hottest ever day' as Europe gripped by deadly heatwave". The Independent. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Tess de la Mare (25 July 2019). "UK heatwave: 500 people try to storm lido as tempers flare amid 37C in London". The Independent. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Lido 1995 BBC Documentary". Brockwellswimmers.com.
- ^ "Staying in: The body in all its glory". The Independent. 21 November 1998.