Guildford Lido

Guildford Lido
Summer 2003
51°14′50″N 0°34′11″W / 51.247208°N 0.569784°W / 51.247208; -0.569784Coordinates: 51°14′50″N 0°34′11″W / 51.247208°N 0.569784°W / 51.247208; -0.569784
Address Stoke Road, Guildford, Surrey
Postcode GU1 1HB
Opened 1933
Length 50 metres (164 ft)
Width 27.4 metres (90 ft)
Website Official website

Guildford Lido was opened in June 1933 by the Mayor of Guildford, Alderman William Harvey. It has been in continuous use for over eight decades.

Description

The lido is a 50x27.4m pool in approximately 3 acres (12,000 m2) of landscaped gardens. Open from late April to early September every year, and is drained while not in use over the winter. It attracts approx. 60,000 visitors each season.[1]

The pool is owned by Guildford Borough Council and operated by Freedom Leisure, a not-for-profit charitable trust.

History

The lido was opened on June 21, 1933. The architect was J.W. Hipwood and cost £13,000 to build with funding raised locally rather than central government. This was an initiative of the Mayor of Guildford (Alderman William Alfred Harvey) who launched a campaign in 1932 to use local unemployed men to build the pool.[2]

Every shilling means an hour's work.

— Campaign Slogan, Mayor of Guildford, 1932[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Guildford Spectrum". Archived from the original on 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Janet (2006), Liquid assets: the lidos and open air swimming pools of Britain, English Heritage, p. 82, ISBN 978-0-9547445-0-2


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