South Bay Pool Scarborough

During the time I lived in Scarborough (1997-2000) I was continuously intrigued by the derelict South Bay Pool. Scarborough's South Bay Bathing Pool had been one of the resorts key tourist attractions, proudly displayed on many contemporary advertising posters. The pool had a haunting atmosphere - it had once been a happy place full of people, now it was silent and falling into decay. Aged 19 and without good photographic equipment, I set out to document this historic site.

I would like to thank Steve Wade for his support in writing this article. Thanks also to former lifeguard Kenneth Blogg, and to regular visitors to the pool, David Collishaw and Richard Beaumont, and the staff of the Yorkshire County Record Office for help with my research. Further thanks are due to Jeremy Harding, Lizz Tuckerman, Jeff Allinson and Wayne Murray for providing pictures. A special thankyou to Mandy Harrow for providing extensive pictures and newspaper cuttings.

The pictures taken by me were taken before I was a professional photographer and are of variable quality. All pictures taken by me are copyright to D Stuart Photography, I am likely to allow usage, so please ask. Other pictures are from my own collection or have been sent to me by contributers. When possible, permission for use has been given but in some cases it is impossible to know who owns their copyright. You can see some great videos of the pool in its heyday here and here.

Do you have any pictures, momentos, stories or information on the South Bay Pool? Did you visit or work there? I would love to hear from you. You can also post to my South Bay Pool Face Book Page.

Contents

Page One; The Pool

Page Two; The Pool (cont.)

Page Three; The Entertainers, Visitors & Holidaymakers

Page Four; The Changing Rooms

Page Five; Inside the Changing rooms

Page Six; Plant Rooms, Laundry Block and Cafe

Page Seven; The End of The South Bay Pool

Open air swimming pools in Scarborough's south and north bays had been under consideration since the first years of the Twentieth Century. Outdoor sea water pools were in their infancy in Britain, but three small pools had been built at St Andrews, and were proving very popular. Scarborough Borough Engineer Harry Smith was enthusiastic about Scarborough having its own pools, which he began to research in 1900. Newspaper publisher C D Leng ran a story in The Shefield Daily Telegraph in 1908, which advocated Scarborough having its own pools. Shortly afterwards, he sketched ideas for the locations of both pools and sent them to Scarborough's Town Clerk. A few years later, the decision to build the South Bay Pool was made.

Plans were drawn up by Harry Smith in 1913 and work began the following year. The construction was supervised by William Birch. Work was hampered by the start of The First World War, and workers had to shelter behind the half-finished walls during the German bombardment of Scarborough in December 1914. The pool opened on schedule in the summer of 1915, but the site was still significantly unfinished with the changing rooms not yet completed, and early visitors having to sit on stacks of unused bricks. In 1916 the changing rooms, toilets and showers came into operation, and a proper retinue of staff was apointed including male and female swimming instructors. (Yorkshire County Record Office) The pool's cafe was added around 1917. A bathing ticket cost 6p, and towels and costumes could be hired if needed. (Scarborough and District Red guide, 1930)

The pool was intended to have a dual purpose of acting as a sea defence for the coastline, as well as boosting Scarborough's already burgeoning tourist industry. It was highly innovative, being the first of its kind and remaining the largest swimming pool in Europe (330ft wide) for many years afterwards. It went on to set a trend for pools that would soon be followed not only by coastal resorts, but at many other locations around the country. The North Bay pool would follow much later, finally opening in 1938.

The South Bay Pool quickly became immensley popular, and many pictures show huge crowds in and around the pool from its opening, right up until the 1960s. Spectators could listen to the band, watch live shows, or refresh themseves in the cafe. A photographer from The Sun Ray Photo Company would snap bathers by the pool's edge, as well as passers by and spectators, and display the prints for sale the following day. A 32ft high diving board was installed in 1934, making the pool one of the country's premier diving establishments and leading to the diving preliminaries for the 1948 Olympic games beng held there. Also in 1934, the pool was substantially modernised, with fountains and a chlorinated water cycling system being added to improve hygeine. The height of the pool's walls were raised, and tiered seating improved spectator capacity up to 3000 people. Entertainments in the 1950s included dancing girls 'The Aqua Belles', diving from world champion Betty Slade, and stunt diving from a man who would set himself on fire before jumping into the pool. ('Liquid Assets', J Smith, English Heritage 2005).

As the pool was designed to serve as a sea defence, it inevitable came under huge pressure from stormy seas. Severe damage resulted from the great storm of 1953, which destroyed a section of the pool's south east wall. The pool was quickly repaired but was clearly vulnerable to further storms. In around 1959, the last large scale construction occurred on the site when a concrete walkway was built all the way around the seaward side of the pool. This would ensure no further damage from stormy seas.

By the 1980s, the pool's popularity was in steep decline. The pool was unheated and thus freezing cold, and faired badly in competition from the heated North Bay Pool. It was also dependent on large numbers of paying spectators, and the fashion for spectator swimming and related entertainments had passed. Winter storms would cause vast amounts of sand to wash into the pool, which required expensive drainage and removal. As the site was relatively isolated, it became an increasingly attractive target for vandals. Moreover, the pool was old, outdated and crumbling. Visitor Richard Beaumont said that by the late 1960s ; 'the pool was decaying. Each winter it was drained to patch up cracks and put on some paint, but no major work was done.' The pool ran into increasingly serious financial problems, first closing briefly in 1981, before reopening with an injection of cash by Scarborough council. It was not enough, and the pool closed down for good in 1989. 

The pool became derelict and was boarded up to try to impede vandalism. When I happened upon the site for the first time in 1997, the site was in an advanced state of decay. What had been a thriving place full of laughter, was now quiet and still, with no sound but the noise of the sea.

The original pool (1915-1934) had had shallow walls, allowing the sea water to come over the top of the wall when the tide was in. The early pool itself was six feet deep at the deep end, which was on the side beneath the water chute. In 1934, a huge boom in interest in outdoor activities and improvements in hygiene led to substantial re-development of the pool. This included raising the height of the walls to make the pool more independant from the sea, increasing the depth to 15 feet, increasing seating capacity, and chlorinating the water. As well as building an extension to the changing rooms to house the machinery, this also led to the appearance of the three distinctive fountains which were part of the water cycling system. Further changes included the introduction of the two semi circular shallow areas for children, each with its own fountain, and also the addition of a high diving board. (1934 Scarborough Holiday Brochure)