Grange Lido
{{Short description|Outdoor swimming pool in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox building
|name = Grange Lido
|image = Lido. Grange-over-Sands.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Grange Lido in 2016
|location = Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England
|coordinates = {{coord|54.187489|-2.912146|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|architect = Bernard Smith or
Thomas Huddlestone
|architectural_style = Art Deco
|opened_date = 1932
|closing_date = 1993
|renovation_date = 2023–present
|designations = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Grade II Listed Building
| designation1_offname = Grange Over Sands Lido
| designation1_date = 26 August 2011
| designation1_number = {{NHLE|num=1402086|short=y|postscript=none}}
}}
}}
Grange Lido is an open-air 50-metre sea-water swimming pool, or lido, in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1932 and closed in 1993, but campaigners are working to see it re-opened as a swimming pool.{{cite web |title=Grange Lido, Cumbria |url=https://historicpools.org.uk/member_pools/grange-lido-cumbria/ |website=Member Pools |publisher=Historic Pools of Britain |access-date=13 September 2019}} Refurbishment works to create a public space have been ongoing since 2023. The lido is in Art Deco style, and is Grade II listed.{{NHLE|desc=Grange over Sands lido|num=1402086|access-date=13 September 2019}}
History and architecture
The lido opened in 1932. The buildings were designed by Grange-over-Sands Urban District Council's surveyor, named Bernard Smith or Thomas Huddlestone.{{cite book |url=https://www.savegrangelido.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/lido-timeline.pdf |title=Swimming in Grange: Timeline of the Grange-over-Sands lido, 1930–2018 |year=2018 |publisher=Save Grange Lido |access-date=13 September 2019}} The lido sits on Grange promenade on the shore of Morecambe Bay, although {{as of|2019|lc=yes}} the changing course of the River Kent means that the sea is at some distance from the promenade, separated by salt marsh. The {{convert|165|x|112|ft|abbr=on}} pool was filled with filtered sea-water at high tide, and was unheated.
The buildings are in Art Deco style. Historic Pools of Britain describes the lido as "A very fine intact Art Deco mushroom shaped lido in a stunning setting on the edge of Morecambe Bay".
English Heritage state the reasons for the lido's Grade II listing in 2011 as:
{{blockquote|
- Completeness: as a complete example of a 1930s lido with the survival of all key ancillary buildings and structures
- Pool: for the unusually shaped pool, designed for multiple uses and which retains its original stepped diving stage
- Historic: as an evocative reminder of the former popularity of sea-side towns such as Grange over Sands and the inter-war cult of fresh air, fitness and mass leisure}}
Pevsner's The Buildings of England (revised ed. 2010), within its description of Grange promenade, simply says "Lido, 1933, closed 1992, and now very forlorn".{{cite book |last1=Hyde |first1=Matthew |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |title=The Buildings of England: Cumbria |year=2010 |publisher=Yale UP |isbn=9780300126631 |page=373 |edition=revised}}
The lido suffered damage from floods in 1977, when the outer wall was breached, but celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1982 with a special gala.{{cite web |title=A Brief history of Grange Lido |url=https://www.savegrangelido.co.uk/history/ |publisher=Save Grange Lido |access-date=13 September 2019}}
Closure and future
The lido closed in 1993, after a report suggested that necessary repairs would be too expensive to be justified.
In 2011 the Save Grange Lido campaign was established, aiming to "transform it into a vibrant community owned leisure facility with a restored 50m pool at its heart."{{cite web |title=About Grange Lido |url=https://www.savegrangelido.co.uk/about-the-lido/ |publisher=Save Grange Lido |access-date=13 September 2019}}{{cite news |last=Glover |first=Mike |title=The campaign to reopen the iconic Grange Lido |url=https://www.lancashirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/grange-lido-1-5848863 |access-date=13 September 2019 |work=Lancashire Life |date=17 January 2019}} The group has produced a detailed business plan setting out how it believes this could be achieved.{{cite book |last=Save Grange Lido Ltd |title=Report and Business Plan: a sustainable vision for the future |date=June 2019 |edition=revised |url=https://www.savegrangelido.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Save_Grange_Lido_Business_Plan_June_2019_opt.pdf |access-date=13 September 2019}} It is a community benefit society.
In 2015 South Lakeland District Council began to consider future uses for the site which would not include a swimming facility: the pool area was to become a "landscaped open space".{{cite news |last=Pidd |first=Helen |title='No one wants it rotting away': fate of Grange Lido hangs in balance |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/02/no-one-wants-it-there-just-rotting-away-fate-of-art-deco-grange-lido-hangs-in-balance |access-date=13 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=2 September 2018}} In February 2019, the council allocated £2 million for "light touch refurbishment" of the lido, to include making it structurally sound, bringing it back into public use, and providing refurbished units for community groups or entrepreneurs.{{cite web |title=Grange-over-Sands Lido |url=https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/business-and-trade/town-and-village-projects/grange-over-sands-lido/ |publisher=South Lakeland District Council |access-date=13 September 2019}}
In February 2023, it was reported that the repair work was to start the following month,{{cite news |date=22 February 2023 |title=Grange lido work to begin shortly, council says |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-64725701 |work=BBC News |location=Cumbria |access-date=28 June 2025}} and later that year the lido's pool was given a "temporary infill" of stones in order to create a public space.{{cite news |last1=Dennett |first1=Jennie |last2=Johnston |first2=Angela |date=2 October 2023 |title=Grange Lido: Campaigners still hopeful pool can be saved |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-66958497 |work=BBC News |location=Cumbria |access-date=28 June 2025}} In March 2024, works were anticipated to finish by summer,{{cite news |date=11 March 2024 |title=Lido worked expected to be completed this summer |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51der3nxd4o |work=BBC News |location=Cumbria |access-date=28 June 2025}} however in May 2025 it was announced that the reopening had been delayed due to issues with concrete repairs.{{cite news |date=10 May 2025 |title=Refurbished lido reopening delayed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8d1j1lrlyeo |work=BBC News |location=Cumbria |access-date=28 June 2025}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|Grange-over-Sands Lido}}
- {{cite web |url=https://grangeoversandshistory.weebly.com/lido.html |title=Lido |publisher=Grange-over-Sands: Maps, History, Images, Postcards}} Contains several archive photos and video clip of 1932 opening
- [https://www.savegrangelido.co.uk/ Save Grange Lido]
Category:Swimming venues in England
Category:Sports venues in Cumbria
Category:Grade II listed buildings in Cumbria
Category:Grade II listed sports and recreation buildings