Jubilee Pool | |
---|---|
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 |
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]
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]
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]
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]