Summary
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]
| Jubilee Pool | |
|---|---|
 The lido from the west in 2011 | |
| Location | Battery Road, Penzance, Cornwall, England |
| Coordinates | 50°06′53″N 5°31′53″W / 50.114784°N 5.531454°W |
| Built | 1935 |
| Architect | Frank Latham[1] |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Jubilee Pool |
| Designated | 4 March 1993 |
| Reference no. | 1221190 |
  Location of Jubilee Pool within Cornwall | |
History edit
Construction and opening edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
References edit
- ^ "Frank Latham's grave". Jubilee Pool Stories. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Jubilee Pool (EN) - Henwyn Tyller". Akademi Kernewek. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "JUBILEE POOL". Historic England. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Amelia Ward (11 June 2021). "Cornwall Is Home To The UK's Largest Outdoor Sea Water Pool". LADbible. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Sarah Turner (20 June 2021). "10 of Britain's best lidos". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ N. P. Cooper (2020). A Cornish Almanack. Lulu.com. p. 170. ISBN 0244254028.
- ^ "Debate over building Jubilee Pool". Jubilee Pool Stories. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Captain Latham, His Monument". Penwith Local History Group. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "8. Jubilee Pool, Penzance". The Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ a b Greg Martin (7 June 2020). "85 years of Cornwall's iconic Jubilee Pool celebrated in wonderful pictures". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d Jon Axworthy (31 May 2016). "Making a splash: Penzance's Jubilee Pool reopens". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Then One Day: Storms, community shares and the lido that keeps surviving". Power to Change Trust. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ India Vaughan-Wilson (26 February 2014). "A Stormy History". Morrab Library. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Jubilee Pool lido in Penzance reopens after storm damage". BBC. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "The Jubilee Pool". Cornwall Guide. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Jan Harvey at the 'Grand Re-opening' of 1994". Jubilee Pool Stories. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Fears as Jubilee Pool in Penzance suffers 'serious structural damage'". Falmouth Packet. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Jubilee Pool Penzance". Power to Change Trust. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Jubilee Pool: Devolution of a council asset". Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "European funding secures geothermal energy for Penzance's Jubilee Pool". Cornwall Isles of Scilly Growth Programme. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Olivier Vergnault (1 June 2020). "Jubilee Pool in Penzance voted best lido in the UK". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Cat Olley (4 August 2021). "The great lido revival: why are Britain's outdoor baths booming?". ELLE. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Dominic Lutyens (2 August 2022). "The best public swimming pools around the world". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2023.