Pools, Baths and Lidos: Swimming Pools

NOTES: Milton Keynes, which incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley, Wolverton and Stony Stratford along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between, was designated a new town in 1967 and planning control was thus taken from elected local authorities and delegated to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC).

NOTES: The Swiss Cottage Swimming Baths and Central Library were the only completed buildings of a scheme for a civic centre in Hampstead. These baths and Coventry Central Baths, designed by Coventry City Architects Department in 1966, were the only complexes of the period to be built with three pools.

NOTES: Designed in 1956 and built in 1962-1966, these swimming baths with attached sunbathing terraces were amongst the most ambitious of those built during a short period in the 1960s when such complexes were encouraged. These baths and Swiss Cottage swimming baths, Hampstead, designed by Sir Basil Spence Bonnington & Collins and completed in 1964, were the only complexes of the period to be built with three pools.

NOTES: These baths were given an RIBA Architecture Award in 1969.

NOTES: Constructed as the venue for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, this complex was demolished in 1998 during the construction of the Millennium Stadium. It was replaced by the Cardiff International Pool which opened in 2008.

NOTES: Constructed as the venue for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, this complex was demolished in 1998 during the construction of the Millennium Stadium. It was replaced by the Cardiff International Pool which opened in 2008.

NOTES: Milton Keynes, which incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley, Wolverton and Stony Stratford along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between, was designated a new town in 1967 and planning control was thus taken from elected local authorities and delegated to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC).

NOTES: Designed in 1956 and built in 1962-1966, these swimming baths with attached sunbathing terraces were amongst the most ambitious of those built during a short period in the 1960s when such complexes were encouraged. These baths and Swiss Cottage swimming baths, Hampstead, designed by Sir Basil Spence Bonnington & Collins and completed in 1964, were the only complexes of the period to be built with three pools.

NOTES: This is one of the images taken for 'Manplan 7: Local Government' in Architectural Review, vol. 148, 1970 July.

NOTES: This is one of the images taken for 'Manplan 7: Local Government' in Architectural Review, vol. 148, 1970 July.

NOTES: Located by the River Thames, this development comprised 1200 private flats built round a central square containing a sports centre with a swimming pool and squash court, a restaurant and shopping arcade.

NOTES: This is a housing development to the south of the city, designed by Walter Gropius with assistance from Otto Haesler. It was the result of a competition in which Gropius was awarded first prize and Haesler second. Gropius co-ordinated the entire project with its different units, providing a total of 228 dwellings (out of the 750 planned). Gropius designed a five-storey block, a four-storey block and a row of terraced houses. The remaining blocks and service buildings are the work of Haesler, Riphahn, Grod, Roeckle, Lochstampfer, Rossler, Merz and Fischer.

NOTES: Built for the 1934 Empire Games, this was the largest covered swimming pool in the world on completion. The pool was capable of being decked over to take an ice skating rink and also a tournament arena. The pool itself was last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics, after which the building has been used for entertainment and known simply as Wembley Arena.

NOTES: Built for the 1934 Empire Games, this was the largest covered swimming pool in the world on completion. The pool was capable of being decked over to take an ice skating rink and also a tournament arena. The pool itself was last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics, after which the building has been used for entertainment and known simply as Wembley Arena.

NOTES: Built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games, this complex with long course pool and diving pool closed for refurbishment in 2009.

NOTES: Charles Fox, a pupil of Louis de Soissons, was commissioned in 1930 to re-design Lansdowne House, designed by Robert Adam in 1762-68, for use as a private club. He remodelled the mansion to incorporate social rooms and a sports area, including a swimming pool, squash courts, fencing Salle, café and bar in the basement. Sir Charles Allom, whose firm Allom, White was responsible for the fitting out of the great Cunard liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, was commissioned to decorate the Club in the 'Arte Moderne' style. It opened as a club on 1st May 1935.

NOTES: This purpose-built school was erected on the site of Rickmansworth Park house, which was demolished in 1926. The design for the new boarding and day school was put out to tender in an architectural competition. It was won by J L Denman, a Freemason himself, whose design incorporated Masonic symbolism, most noticeably in the semi-circle of eight houses, each of which having an H formation.

NOTES: This was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

NOTES: The pool was demolished in 2009.