Jubilee Pool

Jubilee Pool (Cornish: Poll Jubile)[2] is an Art Deco lido in Penzance, Cornwall. It is Grade II listed, being recognised as the finest surviving example of its type with the exception of Saltdean Lido.[3] With a capacity of 5 million litres and 600 swimmers and measuring 300 feet long and 160 feet wide, it is the UK's largest seawater pool.[4][5][6]

This article is about the lido in Penzance, Cornwall. For the lido in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, see Jubilee Park Swimming Pool. For the swimming pool in Bristol, see Jubilee Swimming Pool.

Jubilee Pool
The lido from the west in 2011
LocationBattery Road, Penzance, Cornwall, England
Coordinates50.114784°N 5.531454°W / 50.114784; -5.531454
Built1935
ArchitectFrank Latham[1]
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameJubilee Pool
Designated4 March 1993
Reference no.1221190
Jubilee Pool is located in Cornwall
Jubilee Pool
Location of Jubilee Pool within Cornwall

History

Construction and opening

The plan to build a pool in Penzance became something of a political issue, with local councillors seeing it as a choice between the pool or improving the town's water supply.[7] One town councillor predicted the project would be "the biggest white elephant Penzance has ever had".[8]

The lido was designed between 1931 and 1934 to be built on Battery Rocks, which was already a popular bathing spot, to designs by Captain Frank Latham, the Borough Engineer of Penzance.[9][10] Its design has been described as "Art Deco", "Art Nouveau-styled" and "cubist-inspired",[11][8][12] and is reportedly influenced by the shape of a seagull in flight.[13]

It was opened on the 31 May 1935, as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations for King George V.[8]

Use and decline

The pool was damaged by the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 which hit the UK on 13 March 1962, with the lido's far wall being breached.[10][14]

Visitor numbers declined after the 1970s, when the popularity of lidos waned, and the pool fell into disrepair.[12] It was closed in 1992,[15] but was restored and made a listed building after the formation of the Jubilee Pool Association (later called the Friends of Jubilee Pool).[16]

Revival

The pool had a revival in 1994 with a 'Grand Re-opening' and Penzance-born actress Jan Harvey launching the lido's new season.[17]

The lido suffered "serious structural damage" during the winter storms in February 2014, with changing rooms and terraces being demolished and the floor of the pool being destroyed.[12][18] It was repaired at a cost of £2.94m which was raised by the local community as well as with grants from the Power to Change Trust and the Coastal Communities Fund.[19] Jubilee Pool re-opened in May 2016.[12] In both 2016 and 2017, the lido had around 40,000 visitors.[20]

With the help of a £1.4m European Regional Development Fund grant,[21] Jubilee Pool became the UK's only lido heated with geothermal energy in 2019 after a 410m deep geothermal well was drilled into the rock below the pool.[22] In 2020, Parkdean Resorts named Jubilee Pool the UK's best lido.[23]

As of 2021, Jubilee Pool is owned by 1400 local shareholders and is run as a social enterprise.[24] Design writer Dominic Lutyens included Jubilee Pool in his collection of the best public swimming pools in the world in August 2022.[25]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jubilee Pool.
  1. "Frank Latham's grave". Jubilee Pool Stories. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  2. "Jubilee Pool (EN) - Henwyn Tyller". Akademi Kernewek. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  3. "JUBILEE POOL". Historic England. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. Amelia Ward (11 June 2021). "Cornwall Is Home To The UK's Largest Outdoor Sea Water Pool". LADbible. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  5. Sarah Turner (20 June 2021). "10 of Britain's best lidos". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  6. N. P. Cooper (2020). A Cornish Almanack. Lulu.com. p. 170. ISBN 0244254028.
  7. "Debate over building Jubilee Pool". Jubilee Pool Stories. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  8. "Captain Latham, His Monument". Penwith Local History Group. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  9. "8. Jubilee Pool, Penzance". The Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  10. Greg Martin (7 June 2020). "85 years of Cornwall's iconic Jubilee Pool celebrated in wonderful pictures". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  11. Laurie Havelock (22 November 2021). "Cornwall had one of its busiest summers, but St Ives is perfect for a winter break". i News. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  12. Jon Axworthy (31 May 2016). "Making a splash: Penzance's Jubilee Pool reopens". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  13. "Then One Day: Storms, community shares and the lido that keeps surviving". Power to Change Trust. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  14. India Vaughan-Wilson (26 February 2014). "A Stormy History". Morrab Library. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  15. "Jubilee Pool lido in Penzance reopens after storm damage". BBC. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  16. "The Jubilee Pool". Cornwall Guide. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  17. "Jan Harvey at the 'Grand Re-opening' of 1994". Jubilee Pool Stories. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  18. "Fears as Jubilee Pool in Penzance suffers 'serious structural damage'". Falmouth Packet. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  19. "Jubilee Pool Penzance". Power to Change Trust. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  20. "Jubilee Pool: Devolution of a council asset". Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  21. "European funding secures geothermal energy for Penzance's Jubilee Pool". Cornwall Isles of Scilly Growth Programme. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  22. Olivier Vergnault; Gayle McDonald (30 November 2019). "This is the day Jubilee Pool's geothermal spa is due to open". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  23. Olivier Vergnault (1 June 2020). "Jubilee Pool in Penzance voted best lido in the UK". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  24. Cat Olley (4 August 2021). "The great lido revival: why are Britain's outdoor baths booming?". ELLE. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  25. Dominic Lutyens (2 August 2022). "The best public swimming pools around the world". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
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