Broomhill Pool
Broomhill Pool is a Grade II listed lido on Sherrington Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.
Broomhill Pool | |
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52.06834°N 1.141071°E | |
Address | Sherrington Road, Ipswich |
Opened | 1938 |
Closed | 2002** |
Owned by | Ipswich Borough Council |
Architect | E. McLauchlan |
Status | Grade II Listed |
Length | 165 feet (50 m) |
Width | 60 feet (18 m) |
Website | The Broomhill Pool Trust |
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Status
Broomhill Pool opened on 30 April 1938 and closed in the autumn of 2002.
The lido was built in 1938 for £17,000 by the County-Borough of Ipswich. It was designed by E. McLauchlan, the County-Borough Engineer and Surveyor.
Thanks to the work of local campaigners and the Twentieth Century Society, Broomhill Pool secured Grade II listing in August 2001.
The lido is included as a national monument on the Historic England "Pastscape" website[1]
The lido is built within Broomhill Park. It is close to Broomhill Library which was built in 1942 as a WW2 bomb-proof decontamination unit. Broomhill Library was Grade II listed in 2012. English Heritage highlighted the "Group value: the relationship between the former gas decontamination centre and the adjacent Broomhill lido holds important group value; the style of the decontamination centre was designed to mirror the facade of the adjacent Broomhill Lido (listed at Grade II), and both were designed by Borough Engineer E. McLauchlan". [2]
Broomhill Pool is a founding member of Historic Pools of Britain [3] "Established in 2015, Historic Pools of Britain is the first body ever to represent historic swimming pools in this country. These unique indoor and outdoor pools make a significant contribution to the social and architectural history of Britain and play a hugely important role in our communities"
Janet Smith wrote, in her definitive book "Liquid Assets" (Published 2005): “Broomhill may lack the national profile accorded to Saltdean, Tinside or Penzance, but it is arguably their equal in architectural significance”.
Proposed restoration
The Broomhill Pool Trust is a registered charity (No.1102659) which aims to restore Broomhill Pool; the last remaining Olympic length, grade II listed lido in Suffolk & Norfolk for full public use.
In December 2017, Fusion Lifestyle secured Heritage Lottery Funding stage 2 full grant of £3.4m. Fusion will invest over £2m. [4] In August 2018 Ipswich Borough Council increased their commitment to £1.5m to secure the scheme.[5]
The £7.25m restoration commenced in 2020 and the pool is due to reopen in 2021.[6]
References
- https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1438431&sort=4&search=all&criteria=broomhill%20pool&rational=q&recordsperpage=10
- https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1590781&sort=4&search=all&criteria=westbourne%20library&rational=q&recordsperpage=10
- https://historicpools.org.uk/member_pools/broomhill-open-air-swimming-pool-ipswich/
- https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/ipswich-s-broomhill-pool-gets-3-4m-national-lottery-jackpot-for-christmas-1-5326428
- https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/ipswich-council-backs-broomhill-with-500-000-1-5666750
- Ipswich Star https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/broomhill-trees-lopped-1-6502377
External links
- The Broomhill Pool Trust
- Broomhill Pool Trust Facebook Page
- Historic Pools of Britain
- Youtube Broomhill Pool 1947 and 2001 footage
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160317123721/https://www.hlf.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/major-national-lottery-grant-restore-and-reopen-ipswich%E2%80%99s-grade