A picture tells a thousand words #2
The second of your photos was taken during the great heatwave of 1932 in Kennington Park. Believe it or not, between 1931 and 1987 the park had it’s own lido, and some of you might have lived here long enough to remember it.
Built in 1931 by the LCC, the lido and an adjacent paddling pool measured 165 x 66 feet and contained 350,000 gallons, with a deep end of 7ft 6ins. The pools were high-tech for the day, offering continuous filtration and aeration. The substantial buildings on the site included staff accommodation, first aid rooms, refreshment kiosks, plus individual and group changing rooms.
In it’s heyday the lido attracted an estimated 1800 people a day and was free to all. As one swimmer remembers ‘a whole day would be spent at the park culminating with a dip in undeniably the coldest water it has ever been anyone’s misfortune to swim in’. Oops!
The lido was closed in 1987 but the remains lived on behind a fence in a zombie like fashion until 1995. The remains were removed in 1995 and replaced by the current tennis courts. The only trace of the lido is an oval (how apt) shaped area of grass between the tennis courts and Camberwell New Road where the edge of the paddling pool can be seen.
Used to go to the lido as a kid in late 60’s/early seventies. I can confirm it was cold. I remember well the fountain. Would be nice if the community to bring it back to life like has been done at Saltdean Lido in Brighton (the people’s lido!). A great story how they fought off developers and multi storey construction. Still work in progress, but shows what can be achieved.
I worked on the lido refurbishment in 1989 replacing the tiles and concrete screed bottom so I don’t know what happened to the reopening! It was a big job costing 1000’s so if it didn’t open that was a complete waste
I can remember throughout the summer taking advantage of warm days by going to the pool. You could spend the day there dipping in and out of the water and sitting in the sun by the fountain. In the school holidays it would be crowded. There was also a kiosk that served snacks such as hot sausage rolls, tea, cold drinks and ice creams. It makes me realise how free children used to be in London as it was normal for them to spend a day there without parents accompanying them.