Tooting Bec Lido is an open-air fresh water swimming pool in South

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It is the largest fresh water swimming pool by surface area 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, being long and wide.Wandsworth Council
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Lido Lido may refer to: Geography * Lido (Belgrade), a river beach on the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia * Venice Lido, an 11-kilometre-long barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Venice, Italy * Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruisl ...

is on

Tooting Bec Common The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between Balham, Streatham and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common. Since 1996, they have been wholly within the London Borough of W ...

between

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

and

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

. An original condition of construction was that it should be concealed from views across the common by a surrounding earth ramp. This ramp is now largely covered with bird-filled trees, except where it is breached by the new entrance. The alternating bright red, yellow, and green doors of the changing cubicles seen above the turquoise water make the Lido a popular location for advertisement "shoots" and other filming.

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

's boxing "pool" scene in '' Snatch'' was filmed at the Lido. The Lido is operated and maintained by the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

Access

The Lido is open to the general public from late May to the end of September each year. Tooting Bec Lido is home to the South London Swimming Club (SLSC) who have exclusive use of the Lido during the winter months, when the pool is open between 7 am and 2 pm. Members of SLSC can gain free entry when the pool is open to the public in summer. Adult SLSC membership is currently (2024) priced at £70 plus £110 for an annual lido pass.

History

Tooting Bec Lido is one of Britain's oldest open-air pools – it opened to the public on Saturday 28 July 1906 as the Tooting Bathing-Lake. Digging the lake had been proposed by the Reverend

John Hendry Anderson John Hendry Anderson (May 1854 – 11 November 1913), was a rector in the Church of England, a schoolmaster, and Mayor of Wandsworth. He was instrumental in creating Tooting Bathing-Lake in London. He was born in Old Machar, a parish and dist ...

, Rector of

, as a project to provide work for unemployed local men. It holds one million gallons (4,500 m³) of water. Segregation of the sexes was originally enforced, with women and girls confined to one morning a week.

Mixed bathing Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''. Mixed may refer to: * Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 2001 Census Music * ''Mixed'' (album) ...

was not introduced until 1931, and then only at specified times. At the same time an "aerator", or fountain, was added to help pump the water round the pool and keep it clean. The main reason given for this act of modernisation was that more women would be swimming in the pool and higher standards of hygiene were apparently needed. Five years later in 1936, a cafe was built along with cubicles with proper doors. It was around this time that the pool became known as a "

lido Lido may refer to: Geography * Lido (Belgrade), a river beach on the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia * Venice Lido, an 11-kilometre-long barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Venice, Italy * Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruisl ...

" (as this was when the term came into widespread use in England). Tooting Bec Lido was nearly closed as a result of

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

council's financial cutbacks in the early 1990s, which resulted in the closure of the borough's other lido at

King George's Park King George's Park is a main park spanning Wandsworth and Southfields, South London. History The park was originally called Southfields Park and was laid out in 1922. It was officially opened by King George V in 1923 and renamed in his honour ...

. It was saved as a result of the campaigning efforts of the SLSC, who took over the management of the Lido outside the summer season. Since 1999, Wandsworth council has invested in making improvements to the Lido. The most visible was the move of the public entrance to the northern "shallow end". This removed the need for children and non-swimmers to pass along the narrow paths at the southern "deep end". The new entrance, initially highly visible from across the Common, reduced the lido's sense of seclusion, and made the lido's northern terrace windier. Plantings of willow trees outside the entrance are starting to soften the visual impact. The pool was drained and repainted in 2005 in advance of a summer programme of events to celebrate the Lido's centenary. More fundamental works to reline the pool and relay paving, requiring a prolonged closure period, took place over the winter of 2006–07. The Lido reopened to members of the SLSC in March 2007, when they hosted the Cold Water Championships. In 2017, a new Pavilion building was constructed at the deep end of the pool on the site of the former entrance. This was funded by a large contribution from the accumulated reserves of the SLSC, grant support from SportEngland and funding from Wandsworth Council. The Pavilion provides a new all year round sports hall and improved facilities for the life guarding staff. Adjacent to the pavilion is some additional terrace space, where is it intended that the brick arches of the original entrance will be reconstructed as a memorial.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wandsworth Council Leisure Venues

Tooting Bec Lido Cafe

Tooting Bec Lido
1906 establishments in England Lidos Swimming venues in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Sport in the London Borough of Wandsworth Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Wandsworth