The Lymington Open Air Sea Water Baths (or "historic Roman Seawater Baths") is a lifeguarded open air lido in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Built in 1833, it is the oldest

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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and at 110 metres long by 50 metres wide it is also one of the largest in area. The baths reopened in 2010 following a campaign by local people who also completed the baths' refurbishment.

Description

The pool uses filtered and chlorinated seawater. Owned and managed by Lymington and Pennington Town Council, the opening season is normally from May to September.

History

A seawater pool and smaller baths were on the same site in the 1780s. (There was a Roman camp near Lymington (''Lentune'', ''Lementon''), but there is no evidence of baths.) The current lido was built in 1833 by William Bartlett of the Lymington Bath and Improvement Co. with donations of £6,000. From 1872 the lido was run by Mrs Beeston. The local Corporation acquired the site in 1937. The local

St Barbe Museum St Barbe Museum + Art Gallery is a local museum and art gallery in Lymington, Hampshire, England. Enclosed in the building is a small cafe called 'The Old School Cafe', a gift shop, multi-use room named 'The Mac Carthy Room', a museum showcasi ...

has information on the pool history.St. Barbe Museum website
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References

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External links

Lymington Sea Water Baths

Proposals for a multi-purpose Lymington Sea Water Centre
1833 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1833 Buildings and structures in Lymington Lidos Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire