When you think back to your childhood on Merseyside, many happy memories were likely made at our local swimming pools.
In many instances, they were our first experience of playing in water or where we first learned how to swim. And a number of Merseyside sites have also been at the centre of many gala competitions, weekends with friends, birthdays and more.
We all remember heading to our local leisure centre on the weekends to meet friends, or splashing around at the nearby lido in the summer heat. And sadly, as time has gone on we’ve also said goodbye to a number of them which have closed for good, been demolished and even amalgamated on a new site, the ECHO previously reported.
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From leisure centres to lidos, open air baths and school swimming pools, many happy memories were made. Here, we take another look back at just 17 lost Merseyside swimming pools we loved as kids that are no longer around.
This list is not intended to be comprehensive, we’ve included a number of lost pools from across Merseyside and previously asked for your suggestions on our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group. But if you have a site you’d like to be included, Let us know in the comments section below.
1. Heatwaves, Stockbridge Village
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Four years after ambitious plans were revealed by Knowsley Council, Heatwaves Leisure Centre in Stockbridge Village officially opened on September 8, 1990. The £4.5m complex in The Withens, off Waterpark Drive, was once known for having the “only tropical leisure pool in Merseyside.”
Many will remember its wave pool or queuing for the 200-ft curving water shute, where you could swoop down to a separate pool. But after much consultation on the fate of the leisure centre, the site closed on December 1, 2009.
2. Lodge Lane baths, Toxteth
(Image: Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool Libraries)
Lodge Lane Public Baths and Wash House in Liverpool 8 opened in 1878 and went on to serve residents of Toxteth for over a hundred years. Its eventual closure amid city cutbacks in 1990.
Demolished in 1996, a grassed over patch of land now lies where the baths once stood, next to a vibrant mural painted by local artists on the side of the wall at the former Lodge Lane library. While no trace remains along Lodge Lane of the Victorian baths, it still holds fond memories for many local residents.
3. Gateacre school, Gateacre
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Gateacre School is located on Hedgefield Road in Belle Vale, but many will remember the days of the original building opened in 1957 that was Liverpool’s “first comprehensive school.” In March 1964, its own swimming pool was opened by Councillor W H Sefton, leader of the City Council.
Costing £24,871, it was completed in 10 months. And many former pupils will remember taking lessons in there.
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
4. Derby Pool, Wallasey
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Derby Pool in Wallasey, Wirral, was a 330ft (100m) long rectangular swimming pool which had a high diving board, spring boards, fountains and a chute. There was also a two-tier pavilion and terrace where sunbathers could soak up the sun or shelter from the sea breeze.
The swimming pool opened in 1932 on Harrison Drive and was the first of its kind along the Wallasey coastline. Damaged several times over the years by bad weather, it was demolished in 1980 and a Harvester pub now stands where the swimming pool once was, fittingly called The Derby Pool.
5. William Roberts baths/Broadway Baths, Norris Green
The William Roberts baths opened in April 1936, just a few months prior to its identical Harold Davies swimming baths opened in Dovecot. Both of the baths sported an array of diving boards and three pools with a tiled walkway separating the large adult pools from the two smaller swimming areas.
Sadly, the William Roberts baths closed in 1993 due to structural issues, leaving just the boxing and weights room available to use at the facility. Despite a campaign that saw a petition attract 10,000 signatures to save the baths, the baths remained closed and the building was demolished a few years later.
6. Balliol Road Baths, Bootle
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
The swimming baths on Balliol road opened in 1888 and for generations it was at the centre of recreational life in Bootle. The baths which had many people come through its doors, even saw a world record broken there in 1906 during the National Long Plunge Championships.
The baths closed in 1990 and most of the building was demolished to make way for a car park and sadly only the façade remains today. For over 100 years the baths served as an important community hub.
7. Stanley Park lido, Anfield
(Image: peoplespool.co.uk)
It’s not commonly known but in 1923, an open-air swimming pool was created and remained in use until the early ’60s when it was closed and subsequently demolished. The Stanley Park lido was built in the corner of the boating lake and cost £6,515 to construct and measured 75 by 35 feet.
According to heritage records, the pool was heated and had a paddling pool attached. But some who remember it claim the pool was always freezing cold.
8. Huyton Leisure Centre, Huyton
(Image: Google Streetview)
Built in the 1970s, the lost Huyton Leisure Centre was located on Roby Road. Serving generations for decades, the site closed in 2011 and was later demolished to concentrate its resources on the new Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park nearby.
In 2011, the new site opened Longview Drive in Huyton. Today, homes on the new Harrington Place development occupy the Roby Road site.
9. Scotchbarn Pool, Prescot
(Image: Google Streetview)
Also opening in the 1970s, Scotchbarn was located behind the old Prescot Suite and was loved by generations of swimmers. Many weekends were spent there and the site hosted numerous galas and competitions.
It closed in 2011 after almost four decades to be replaced by the new Knowsley-wide facility on Longview Drive, Huyton. In 2015, Knowsley Council announced 35 homes had been given the go-ahead on the old Scotchbarn leisure centre site in Prescot.
10. New Brighton Baths, New Brighton
New Brighton Baths was opened by Lord Leverhulme in 1934 and became the largest lido in Britain. By the 1980s, with the ferry link from Liverpool gone, attendances were down to 30,000 from their 1970s peak of 80,000.
It was demolished after a storm in 1990 damaged its structure and council bosses said it was too expensive to repair. In 2011, the shopping and leisure complex Marine Point opened its doors on the site of the former lido and the following year, work began on building the kids entertainment centre Bubbles’ World of Play in the former Lido building which still remains there today.
11. Ainsdale Lido, Ainsdale
Ainsdale’s lido, which opened in 1933 at a cost of £30,000, was initially known as Ainsdale Bathing Centre. During the Second World War, the lido and much of the seafront area were turned into a naval base.
Although there were attempts to revive the lido, it failed to replicate its earlier success. The lido was used as a cafe and licensed premises and dance nights were held there in the 1980s, before it was sadly demolished in 2007.
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12. Woolton baths, Woolton
Once a bustling community hub used by a young Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Woolton swimming baths opened over 100 years ago, but closed abruptly in October 2010 when tests revealed the filter system had corroded.
Initially built at a cost of £3,300, the Grade II listed building originally held six private baths, a footbath and a plunge pool, as well as the swimming pool and a laundry to the rear. Determined campaigns to save the baths have been launched over the years, with local residents who grew up with memories of the pool campaigning to restore it to its former glory.
13. Southport sea bathing lake, Southport
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Southport was once the highlight of people’s summers, with tourists travelling from across the country to the seaside town. One ever-popular attraction was the town’s open-air swimming baths, Southport’s Sea Bathing Lake, that saw thousands flock to get a spot in the pool on hot summers days.
The iconic outdoor swimming baths by Southport Beach was sadly demolished by Sefton Council in 1993. The site made way for the Ocean Plaza development.
14. Lister Drive swimming baths, Tuebrook
Lister Fisheries and Pet Centre sell a range of tropical fish and birds. But it is still remembered as the Lister Drive baths, which closed in 1987.
For more than 80 years, people of Liverpool used the baths which were designed by Thomas Shelmerdine with the engineer W R Court. Most of the original features and architecture of the building, which opened in May 1904, are still on show.
15. Picton Baths, Wavertree
(Image: Trinity Mirror Copyright)
For over 80 years, many learnt to swim at Picton baths. Located in Wavertree, in 1978, a sports hall and squash courts were also built at the back of Picton Baths to create a new sports centre.
Liverpool Aquatics Centre was opened in 2008 and replaced the old Picton swimming baths. The Victorian site had to close because of structural problems.
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16. Hoylake Baths, Hoylake
Hoylake‘s lido on the promenade opened in June 1913 and was refurbished in the late 1920s at a cost of £25,000, re-opening in 1931. In 1976 the council closed Hoylake Baths after the site suffered storm damage but it was reopened by Hoylake Pool Trust.
A run of bad weather and a lack of funding saw the baths closed down six years later. And then they were demolished in 1984.
17. Port Sunlight Open Air Swimming Pool, Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight village once had its own open air swimming pool next to where the garden centre now is. It was open to the public in the summer months and had dedicated sessions for employees from the Lever factory.
The pool closed in the 1970s. This photo from the summer of 1953 shows staff from Levers enjoying a dip.
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