Meticulous restoration of the UK’s oldest lido

As well as calling on our expertise in heritage restoration, the £9.3m, 15-month project to restore the decaying, 207-year-old Georgian site to its former glory had significant logistical challenges.

All machinery, materials and equipment required to carry out the major refurbishment works on the Grade II* listed site could only be transported via the adjacent River Avon.

Limited to carrying five tonnes of material, a barge made around six round trips per day – navigating around everything from pleasure craft to the canoeists and kayakers who shared the river.

The work saw the creation of a new crescent-shaped waterproof concrete main pool within the footprint of the original, listed red-brick pool, which was preserved beneath it. 

Work began with the draining of the existing pool, followed by the installation of a system of drainage crates to allow natural spring water to continue to flow into the listed pool and around the shell of the new one.

The children’s pool walls were temporarily held in place while the team excavated out the base to construct the waterproof, below-ground plantroom which is now home to the pool filtration equipment, along with hi-spec water source heat pumps which will be used to heat the pool water. 

This has been a rare opportunity to restore a heritage building to its original use. Although logistically challenging, the overriding theme of this project has been collaboration. Working together with Anna, her team, volunteers and local residents has meant that no problem has been insurmountable. Having access only by river has really tested our initiative, getting materials in and out of the project but also in the method of construction, given the limited plant and equipment that we could get to the site. Overall, it has been an honour to breathe new life into an historic landmark which can now be enjoyed for generations to come.

Mark Tregelles
Project Manager, Beard

I am proud to have played a part in a restoration that many didn’t believe was possible. It’s been complex and very challenging. But it’s also been unique, the project of a lifetime. We are a small project team and could not have done it without the help of our hundreds of volunteers. It’s been a real privilege to work on such a community-driven undertaking. I’ve especially enjoyed taking this from a community heritage scheme to a project which engages with wellbeing, culture, sustainable energy and the natural environment.

Anna Baker
Project Director, The Cleveland Pools Trust

Curving around one length, the original Georgian changing rooms and a central cottage with archway were made structurally safe, restored, stripped of centuries of paint back to their original Bath stone and re-roofed in Welsh slate – some of which was reclaimed from the original roofs.

As well as allowing for access, water from the river will feed the water source heat pumps, providing the Pools with a sustainable heating solution when the site fully re-opens to the public in spring next year and heating the pool to 28 degrees centigrade. 

The restoration is the culmination of an extraordinary 18-year community campaign by the Cleveland Pools Trust, supported by thousands of Bathonians.

The trust’s tireless campaign has taken the 207-year-old, Grade II* listed site from the lows of its closure in 1984 and a threat of demolition in 2003, to the highs of its stunning, present-day restoration.

Hundreds of people entered a competition to be the first to swim and the first hundred dived in at an event held on Saturday 24th September.