Broomhill Open Air Swimming Pool, Ipswich

E McLauchlan, an engineer from the County-Borough of Ipswich, created the Broomhill Open Air Swimming Pool.

On Saturday, April 30, 1938, County-Borough of Ipswich Mayor George Underwood officially opened the £17,000

structure.

Situated on the edge of Broomhill Park, this modern pool building is one of the most gorgeous lido-style outdoor

pools in Britain and one of just 15 listed public lidos in England.

In her seminal work Liquid Assets, Janet Smith wrote: “Broomhill may not have the national prominence of

Saltdean, Tinside, or Penzance, but it is arguably on par with them in terms of architectural significance.”

Facilities
The competition pool is 55 yards by 20 yards (8 lanes wide), 15 feet deep, and has a capacity of 464,000 gallons, or

2.1 million litres, of water.

There are 700 spectators in the grandstand, 70 women’s and 108 men’s changing cubicles, and a 12.5-by-20-yard

children’s pool.

The last known Wicksteed (of Kettering) diving stage is located in the pool, and it can accommodate diving boards

that are 2, 3, 4, and 5 meters long in addition to a separate 1-meter spring board.

Flood lighting was first installed in the building, both underwater and by the pool.

Notable facts

The water was filtered and heated to 70F/21C, before the boilers were requisitioned for WW2 in 1941. The 3 hour

filtration rate for 2,500,000 litres of water was one of the fastest in the country.

Rare footage of Broomhill from 1947 shows a diving display with British Woman’s Champion Betty Slade, and a

family day out at Broomhill. Click here to watch

Current plans
The swimming pool was closed in 2002. They formed a group of friends right away, which later became the

Broomhill Pool Trust in 2003.

In an effort to preserve Broomhill Pool for future generations, the Trust has since spent numerous hours

researching, contacting, and lobbying Fusion Lifestyle, Ipswich Borough Council, and other relevant parties.

With a target of £3.3 million overall, Fusion Lifestyle was awarded a £180,000 stage 1 development grant by the

Heritage Lottery in 2015. In addition to Fusion Lifestyle’s £1 million or more contribution, Ipswich Borough Council

has allocated up to £1 million. The grade II listed lido will be operated by Fusion following renovations.

In 2020, restoration work will start after extensive architectural and project planning.