The Thames Lido, formerly known as the King's Meadow swimming pool , is an open-air swimming pool or

lido Lido may refer to: Geography Africa * Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco Asia * Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing * Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok * Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...

located in King's Meadow in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, Berkshire. It was first opened to the public in 1903 as the Ladies Swimming Bath and is believed to be the oldest surviving outdoor municipal pool of a similar early

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

era. In August 2004, as a result of a campaign, the building was awarded

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

status. It re-opened in 2017 after three years of restoration.

History

The pool traces its ancestry back to 1860 as a bathing area. In 1879, Reading Corporation (now

Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonia ...

) built the largest pool in the

South of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

, x , but for men only. The current pool x was built in 1902 near the men's pool (now demolished) so that women could also swim there. It had changing booths and showers and a very high degree of architectural detail, most of which was manufactured locally. The water supply was originally fed from the nearby

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. During the 1950s the water treatment method for the pool changed to mains supply. A heating system was installed, but never used. The pool was closed to the public in 1974, reopening in Autumn 2017.

Current status

During the 1990s, the Reading Sub Aqua Club took a lease on the premises and established a non-swimming meeting place, with an intention of creating a regional diving trading centre. The outside of the building became graffitied, vandalised and fell into disrepair. Reading Borough Council invited proposals for the future of the site and, in April 2009, developers Askett Hawk were given permission to build a hotel at the site. In September 2009, the council rejected the proposal to grant a 250-year lease to Askett Hawk and decided to give a local campaign group the opportunity to develop a scheme to restore the pool for public use. In 2015 Reading Borough Council approved the renovation of the Lido. The restoration was completed in 2017; as well as reopening the pool, there is a restaurant, small spa and private dining facilities.

References

External links

London pools campaign - King's Meadow BathsKing's Meadow Baths SiteBBC Berkshire - Kings Meadow Swimming Pool
Grade II listed buildings in Reading 1902 establishments in England Lidos Sports venues in Reading, Berkshire {{Berkshire-struct-stub