Jubilee Pool

{{about|the lido in Penzance, Cornwall|the lido in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire|Jubilee Park Swimming Pool|the swimming pool in Bristol|Jubilee Swimming Pool}}

{{Infobox historic site

| name = Jubilee Pool

| image = Penzance Jubilee pool and harbour by Kernow Skies cropped.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = The pool from the air in 2021

| locmapin = United Kingdom Cornwall

| map_width = 250

| map_caption =Location of Jubilee Pool within Cornwall

| coordinates = {{coord|50.114784|-5.531454|region:GB_type:landmark|format=dec|display=inline,title}}

| location = Battery Road, Penzance, Cornwall, England

| built = 1935

| architect = Frank Latham{{cite web |title=Frank Latham's grave |url=https://www.jubileepoolstories.co.uk/frank-lathams-grave?position=12&list=WENduNxL8yy47xQQSRlEPIe6Pa9wXaHwJ-ES5-EDZMc |website=Jubilee Pool Stories |access-date=7 December 2021}}

| architecture =

| designation1 = Grade II

| designation1_offname = Jubilee Pool

| designation1_date = 4 March 1993

| designation1_number = {{listed building England|1221190}}

}}

Jubilee Pool (Cornish: {{lang|kw|Poll Jubile}}){{cite web |title=Jubilee Pool (EN) - Henwyn Tyller |url=https://www.akademikernewek.org.uk/place-names/content/jubilee-pool |website=Akademi Kernewek |access-date=6 December 2021}} 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.{{cite web |title=JUBILEE POOL |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1221190 |website=Historic England |access-date=6 December 2021}} 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.{{cite web |author1=Amelia Ward |title=Cornwall Is Home To The UK's Largest Outdoor Sea Water Pool |url=https://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-cornwall-is-home-to-the-uks-largest-outdoor-pool-20210611 |website=LADbible |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=11 June 2021}}{{cite web |author1=Sarah Turner |title=10 of Britain’s best lidos |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/jun/20/10-best-britains-lidos-outdoor-public-swimming-pools |website=The Guardian |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=20 June 2021}}{{cite book |author1=N. P. Cooper |title=A Cornish Almanack |date=2020 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=0244254028 |page=170}}

History

File:Jubilee Pool (7376).jpg

=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.{{cite web |title=Debate over building Jubilee Pool |url=https://www.jubileepoolstories.co.uk/debate-over-building-jubilee-pool?position=0&list=uoOSj07myxRiGLp9Rjo399mzdynMbXBxvx4ZOxRUWu8 |website=Jubilee Pool Stories |access-date=6 December 2021}} One town councillor predicted the project would be "the biggest white elephant Penzance has ever had".

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.{{cite web |title=8. Jubilee Pool, Penzance |url=https://c20society.org.uk/40-buildings-saved/8-jubilee-pool-penzance#dismiss-cookie-notice |website=The Twentieth Century Society |access-date=6 December 2021}}{{cite web |author1=Greg Martin |title=85 years of Cornwall's iconic Jubilee Pool celebrated in wonderful pictures |url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/gallery/85-years-cornwalls-iconic-jubilee-4196065 |website=Cornwall Live |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=7 June 2020}} Its design has been described as "Art Deco", "Art Nouveau-styled" and "cubist-inspired",{{cite web |author1=Laurie Havelock |title=Cornwall had one of its busiest summers, but St Ives is perfect for a winter break |url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/cornwall-st-ives-winter-activities-tate-restaurants-hotels-surfing-boat-trips-1309479 |website=i News |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=22 November 2021}}{{cite web |author1=Jon Axworthy |title=Making a splash: Penzance's Jubilee Pool reopens |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/may/31/penzance-cornwall-jubilee-pool-reopens |website=The Guardian |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=31 May 2016}} and is reportedly influenced by the shape of a seagull in flight.{{cite web |title=Then One Day: Storms, community shares and the lido that keeps surviving |url=https://www.powertochange.org.uk/news/one-day-storms-community-shares-lido-keeps-surviving/ |website=Power to Change Trust |access-date=6 December 2021}}

It was opened on the 31 May 1935, as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations for King George V.{{cite web |title=Captain Latham, His Monument |url=https://www.penwithlocalhistorygroup.co.uk/on-this-day/?id=137 |website=Penwith Local History Group |access-date=6 December 2021}} By August 1935, almost 60,000 people had visited the pool resulting in takings of nearly £700.{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=Penzance Bathing Pool - Takings Total Nearly £700|work=The Cornishman |issue=|date=15 August 1935|page=5 |id=0000331/19350815/048/0005}}

=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.{{cite web |author1=India Vaughan-Wilson |title=A Stormy History |url=https://morrablibrary.org.uk/2014/02/a-stormy-history/ |website=Morrab Library |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=26 February 2014}}

Visitor numbers declined after the 1970s, when the popularity of lidos waned, and the pool fell into disrepair. Plans to turn the site into a leisure centre were proposed.{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title='Jubilee pool should be kept as it is'|work=The Cornishman |issue=7189|date=3 May 1990|page=2 |id=0004946/19900503/002/0002}}{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=New plans for Jubilee pool|work=The Cornishman |issue=7187|date=19 April 1990|page=1 |id=0004946/19900419/001/0001}} The pool was closed in 1992,{{cite web |title=Jubilee Pool lido in Penzance reopens after storm damage |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-36406203 |website=BBC |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=28 May 2016}} but was restored and made a listed building after the formation of the Jubilee Pool Association (later called the Friends of Jubilee Pool).{{cite web |title=The Jubilee Pool |url=https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/penzance/jubilee_pool.htm |website=Cornwall Guide |access-date=6 December 2021}} The campaign gained support in Penzance,{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=Jubilee Pool protest grows|work=The Cornishman |issue=7207|date=6 September 1990|page=3 |id=0004946/19900906/003/0003|author=Peter Heyman}} but the costs of maintenance and restoration were opposed by some local councillors from St Ives and Hayle who felt that ratepayers in their towns were being forced to pay for something that they did not use.{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=Jubilee Pool 'burden'|work=The Cornishman |issue=7213|date=18 October 1990|page=8 |id=0004946/19901018/008/0008}}{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=Hayle people should not have to pay for Penzance pool, says council|work=The West Briton |date=23 July 1998|page=3 |id=0003587/19980723/028/0003}}

New sea defences and a reinforced concrete lining were built in 1993 at a cost of £260,000.{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=Firm win contracts worth £1.6m|work=The West Briton |issue=9435|date=19 August 1993|page=12 |id=0003586/19930819/154/0012}} The funding for renovation was sourced from the local authority Penwith District Council, the UK government, and the European Union.{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=Tinside 'should be saved for nation'|work=Evening Herald |issue=35032|date=28 May 1998|page=28 |id=0003596/19980528/028/0028 |author=William Telford}}

=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.{{cite web |title=Jan Harvey at the 'Grand Re-opening' of 1994 |url=https://www.jubileepoolstories.co.uk/jan-harvey-grand-re-opening-1994-0 |website=Jubilee Pool Stories |access-date=6 December 2021}} The successful reopening led to calls for Tinside Lido in Plymouth to also be refurbished and reopened.{{cite British Newspaper Archive|title=The battle for Tinside pool|work=Evening Herald |issue=34977 |date=24 March 1998|page=10 |id=0003596/19980324/010/0010}}

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.{{cite web |title=Fears as Jubilee Pool in Penzance suffers 'serious structural damage' |url=https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11001219.fears-as-jubilee-pool-in-penzance-suffers-serious-structural-damage/ |website=Falmouth Packet |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=12 February 2014}} 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.{{cite web |title=Jubilee Pool Penzance |url=https://www.powertochange.org.uk/case_study/jubilee-pool-penzance/ |website=Power to Change Trust |access-date=6 December 2021}} Jubilee Pool re-opened in May 2016. In both 2016 and 2017, the lido had around 40,000 visitors.{{cite web |title=Jubilee Pool: Devolution of a council asset |url=https://www.cornwallislesofscillygrowthprogramme.org.uk/case-studies/jubilee-pool-devolution-of-a-council-asset/ |website=Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme |access-date=6 December 2021}}

With the help of a £1.4m European Regional Development Fund grant,{{cite web |title=European funding secures geothermal energy for Penzance’s Jubilee Pool |url=https://www.cornwallislesofscillygrowthprogramme.org.uk/european-funding-secures-geothermal-energy-penzances-jubilee-pool/ |website=Cornwall Isles of Scilly Growth Programme |access-date=4 May 2023}} 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.{{cite web |author1=Olivier Vergnault |author2=Gayle McDonald |title=This is the day Jubilee Pool’s geothermal spa is due to open |url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/day-jubilee-pools-geothermal-spa-2277437 |website=Cornwall Live |access-date=7 December 2021 |date=30 November 2019}} In 2020, Parkdean Resorts named Jubilee Pool the UK's best lido.{{cite web |author1=Olivier Vergnault |title=Jubilee Pool in Penzance voted best lido in the UK |url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/jubilee-pool-penzance-voted-best-4176123 |website=Cornwall Live |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=1 June 2020}}

As of 2021, Jubilee Pool is owned by 1400 local shareholders and is run as a social enterprise.{{cite web |author1=Cat Olley |title=The great lido revival: why are Britain’s outdoor baths booming? |url=https://www.elledecoration.co.uk/lifestyle-culture/a27946853/outdoor-pool-uk/ |website=ELLE |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=4 August 2021}} Design writer Dominic Lutyens included Jubilee Pool in his collection of the best public swimming pools in the world in August 2022.{{cite web |author1=Dominic Lutyens |title=The best public swimming pools around the world |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220729-the-best-public-swimming-pools-around-the-world |website=BBC |access-date=2 January 2023 |date=2 August 2022}}