Overview

• Early history (pre-19th century): Swimming in rivers, lakes and the sea has long been practiced in Britain for bathing, fishing, subsistence and recreation. Evidence appears in literature and local records; formal instruction and organized leisure swimming were rare. (See: G. P. Wells, “A Short History of Swimming,” 1951.)

• 19th century: Urbanisation, industrialisation and public health reforms led to the creation of indoor public baths and also to organised outdoor bathing places (seaside resorts, lidos and river bathing clubs). Victorian seaside culture and improvements in transport (railways) made sea bathing popular. Lidos—a British term for outdoor public pools—began to appear as municipal projects for health and leisure. (See: Kathleen Burke, “Leisure and the Victorian City,” 1995.)

• Interwar period (1920s–1930s): The heyday of lidos. Many purpose-built outdoor pools were constructed by local authorities as part of civic improvement programmes, often in Art Deco or modernist styles. Outdoor bathing became a mass recreational activity. Notable examples: Tooting Bec Lido (opened 1906, popularised later), Saltdean Lido (1938). (See: Historic England reports on 20th-century lidos.)

• Postwar decline (1950s–1970s): Rising costs, changing leisure tastes, indoor pools, and the advent of cheap foreign holidays led to neglect and closure of many lidos and outdoor baths. Many were filled in, demolished, or repurposed.

• Revival and rescue (1990s–present): Local campaigns, heritage interest and renewed health/recreational interest sparked a revival. Friends-of groups, charities and councils have restored and reopened many lidos. Cold-water swimming clubs and wild-swimming communities also grew, emphasising natural bathing spots (rivers, reservoirs, and the sea). The 2010s saw a notable increase in wild swimming, partly driven by wellbeing, outdoor culture, and social media. (See: Kate Rew, Wild Swim: River, Lakes & Shore: Swim Wild Britain, 2011.)

• Contemporary scene (2020s): Outdoor swimming is diverse: heritage lidos restored for community use; managed outdoor pools (seasonal); organised open-water events (triathlons, sea-swim races); commercial wild-swim companies offering guided swims; and grassroots cold-water groups. Health benefits (mental wellbeing, resilience) and climate/urban green-space debates shape the practice. The COVID-19 pandemic briefly increased interest in outdoor, socially-distanced activities including open-water swims. (See: research on cold-water immersion and wellbeing, e.g., J. H. Leppäluoto et al., 2016; and Sport England/National Trust reports.)

Key factors driving changes

• Public health and municipal investment (19th–20th centuries)
• Transport, leisure culture and mass tourism (railways, seaside resorts)
• Economic constraints and changing tastes (postwar closures)
• Heritage and conservation activism (rescues and restorations)
• Wellbeing, outdoor recreation trends and social media (modern resurgence)
• Environmental and safety regulation (water quality, lifeguarding)

Notable institutions and examples

• Tooting Bec Lido (London) — long-standing large lido
• Saltdean and Jubilee Pools (Brighton/Plymouth) — 1930s period lidos, restored examples
• The Outdoor Swimming Society (founded 2006 by Kate Rew) — advocacy and community-building for wild swimming
• Historic England — documentation and conservation guidance for lidos

Further reading

• Kate Rew, Wild Swim: River, Lakes & Shore (2011)
• Historic England, “Lidos in the UK” and related conservation case studies
• Academic and public-health literature on cold-water immersion and mental health (e.g., Leppäluoto et al., 2016)

If you’d like, I can:

• Provide a timeline with dates for specific lidos and openings/closures
• Summarise key policy decisions that affected lidos (e.g., municipal funding shifts)
• Map the major wild-swimming spots and communities in a region of the UK

Saltdean Lido (Saltdean, near Brighton)

• What it is: A seaside lido opened in 1938, designed in an elegant Modernist/Art Deco style by architect R.W.H. Jones for the Saltdean housing estate. It combined a large outdoor pool, sun terraces and brick/curved concrete architecture intended as a civic leisure amenity for the interwar seaside boom.
• Historical significance: Typical of the 1930s “golden age” of British lidos — civic projects that celebrated modernity, health and mass leisure. Saltdean is often cited for its striking coastal-modernist design and as an intact example of a municipal lido from that period.
• Decline and rescue: Like many lidos, it suffered postwar decline, periods of closure and threat of demolition. Local campaigning and heritage interest led to restoration efforts; it was listed (Grade II) for architectural and historic interest and has been refurbished to reopen as a community and leisure venue.
• Why it matters: Saltdean exemplifies interwar civic optimism, the architectural ambitions of lido-building, and the later heritage movement that rescued such sites. See Historic England listings and conservation reports for detailed documentary evidence.

Jubilee Pool (Penzance, Cornwall)

• What it is: A large coastal lido constructed in 1935–1936 and opened for the 1936 season in Penzance. It’s a tidal seawater pool built in an Art Deco style on the promenade, originally intended both for healthful bathing and as a tourist amenity.
• Historical significance: One of the larger surviving 1930s lidos, Jubilee is notable for being a seawater tidal pool—drawing on local coastal conditions—and for its role in Cornish seaside culture.
• Decline and restoration: The pool faced damage and operational challenges over decades (coastal storms, maintenance costs) and was closed at times. A major restoration project in the 2010s repaired storm damage, modernised facilities, and re-opened the pool in 2016 with a combination of heritage-sensitive repairs and contemporary engineering (including flood resilience measures). The project was supported by local fundraising, lottery and heritage grants.
• Why it matters: Jubilee Pool demonstrates both the vulnerability of seaside lidos to climatic/coastal pressures and how community-led restoration, supported by heritage funding and modern engineering, can revive such landmarks. See local council reports and press accounts of the 2010s restoration.

Comparative points

• Era and style: Both are 1930s lidos in the Art Deco/Modernist tradition, built as municipal amenities during the interwar leisure boom.
• Type of water: Saltdean is a freshwater outdoor lido set on the seafront (but not tidal); Jubilee is a seawater tidal pool integrated with the shoreline.
• Fate and recovery: Both fell into decline after mid-20th-century changes in leisure and finance but were saved through listing, local campaigning and restoration projects—illustrating the broader revival of interest in lidos and outdoor swimming.
• Broader significance: Each site exemplifies themes in the history of outdoor swimming in the UK — municipal investment in public health and leisure, interwar modernist design, postwar decline, and contemporary heritage-led revival.

Sources and further reading

• Historic England — listings and case studies on Saltdean Lido and Jubilee Pool
• Local council and project reports on Jubilee Pool restoration (Penzance/Penwith)
• Kate Rew, Wild Swim, and surveys of British lidos for broader context on interwar lido culture

Victorian seaside culture refers to the social practices, institutions and built environments that turned Britain’s coasts into mass leisure destinations during the 19th century (roughly 1837–1901). It combined changing ideas about health, morality, classed leisure, and transport technologies to create the holiday habits and seaside architecture we still recognise today.

Key features

• Health and therapeutic ideas

  • Sea-bathing was promoted as beneficial: doctors and moralists advocated fresh air, sea air, and seawater for convalescence and prevention of disease. “Taking the waters” at the coast was cast as a respectable, healthful activity that could cure or prevent illness (see Burke, Leisure and the Victorian City).

• Rise of mass tourism and transport

  • Railways transformed accessibility. Where a coastal visit once required lengthy coach travel, trains made day-trips and week-long holidays affordable for working and middle classes, expanding seaside attendance enormously.

• Classed and seasonal leisure

  • Victorian resorts catered to distinct class tastes: promenades, piers, assembly rooms, bathing machines, and genteel promenading for middle and upper classes; amusements, fish-and-chip stalls, and cheap lodging for working-class visitors. Seasonality developed (summer months became defined holiday time).

• Moral regulation and proper conduct

  • Strong concerns about modesty and mixed bathing led to gendered practices: bathing machines, separate times or zones for women and men, and strict dress codes (heavy “bathing costume” outfits). Seaside entertainment was regulated to preserve respectability for families and “decent” visitors.

• Built environment and civic investment

  • Towns invested in piers, promenades, hotels, pleasure gardens and later lidos. These civic improvements showcased municipal pride and the idea of providing wholesome recreation for citizens (precursor to municipal lidos).

• Pleasure and popular entertainments

  • Alongside healthful pursuits there were shows, musical promenades, donkey rides, arcades, fairgrounds and, eventually, more commercial amusements. The pier became a focal point for leisure—strolling, concerts and seaside spectacle.

• Gender, leisure and social mixing

  • Seaside resorts offered new social spaces where different classes and genders could be seen in public, though social hierarchies and segregating practices (separate beaches, promenades, or seating areas) persisted. For women, the seaside could be both liberating (out-of-door activity) and tightly policed (morality and dress).

Cultural and long-term impacts

• Democratization of leisure: The seaside helped normalize the idea of mass leisure and the holiday as a social institution.
• Infrastructure legacy: Piers, promenades and lidos emerged from Victorian civic investment, forming the physical basis for later outdoor swimming culture.
• Consumer culture: The seaside fostered commercial leisure industries—entertainments, retail, and hospitality—that evolved into 20th-century tourism.
• Changing norms: Practices initiated in the Victorian era (organized seaside bathing, seasonal holidays) persisted and adapted, shaping interwar lido booms and postwar leisure shifts.

Suggested sources

• Kathleen Burke, Leisure and the Victorian City (1995) — social context and municipal leisure.
• G. P. Wells, A Short History of Swimming (1951) — background on bathing practices.
• General histories of British seaside resorts and Victorian social life; Historic England resources on coastal heritage.

If you want, I can outline how Victorian seaside customs influenced the rise of municipal lidos and organized outdoor bathing in the 20th century.