Dear Chris and Caroline, hi there, You forgot to mention that the LIDO was actually hit by a Gerry bomb right smack bang in the main pool. My Fathers elder brother, Arthur Lawrence, was a swimming instructor there. Thanks for the interesting history. I spent many happy hours at the LIDO during my childhood and in the SLIPPER baths once a week as a young man when I was demobbed from the Army. I lived in the Council flats opposite, by the old walls. I have printed out your info and placed it within my records. Thankyou and best regards, EDWARD. >From: ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D-request@rootsweb.com >Reply-To: ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-L@rootsweb.com >To: ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D@rootsweb.com >Subject: ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D Digest V04 #132 >Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 12:00:29 -0600 > >Content-Type: text/plain > >ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D Digest Volume 04 : Issue 132 > >Today's Topics: > #1 Southampton Memories -The Lido ["Chris & Caroline" ><chris@chayles.] > >Administrivia: >To unsubscribe from ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D, send a message to > > ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D-request@rootsweb.com > >that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > >and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software >requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > >To contact the ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-D list administrator, send mail to >ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-admin@rootsweb.com. > >______________________________ >X-Message: #1 >Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 23:08:29 +0100 >From: "Chris & Caroline" <chris@chayles.freeserve.co.uk> >To: ENG-SOUTHAMPTON-L@rootsweb.com >Message-ID: <000001c47681$bf6c6fb0$25d14e51@chris> >Subject: Southampton Memories -The Lido >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > >WeThought this might interest some of old Sotonians who can remember the >Lido. >Chris and Caroline > > >From Southampton Echo Friday 30th July 2004 > >FOR YEARS Southampton's Lido was a mecca for swimmers and sunbathers who >flocked in their thousands to spend lazy afternoons in the great British >summertime. > >Sadly, summer never came again after 1977 when the Lido, situated at the >railway end of Western >Esplanade, became too expensive to run and maintenance costs continued >to escalate. > >Plans were put forward to the city council to re-develop the site as >either a skateboard park or an inner city angling centre but, as these >ideas >all faded, the decision was made in the early 1980s to demolish the >site. > >Closure of the Lido came as no surprise to the council or local >swimmers, >as it had been living on borrowed time since 1973. > >Each year workmen patched it up, but there was always the fear that >something serious would happen. In August 1976, it did. > >The water in the deep areas of the pool became so murky that the Lido >had to be closed on occasions. A full investigation later revealed a >complete collapse of the Lido's boiler and >filtration plant. > >The first open-air pool on the edge of the Lido site was built in 1854 >by >the Southampton Public Baths and Wash Houses Company > >The directors of the company, in their propectus, promised a baths >complex "which would surpass all bathing establishments in the country" >for a total capital of £5,000. >However, the ambitious plan hit financial problems and only the >gentleman's open air pool and the ladies' >covered pool were completed. > >In spite of two major alterations the last Lido was almost identical in >shape to the original gentleman's pool, which took water direct from >the River Test. > >Over the decades, the Lido was redeveloped and improved and in >1930 a major reconstruction took place. > >The pool was closed from 1940 to 1942 because of smoke and grit from >nearby electricity generating station but it reopened in 1943 after >repairs >and a clean-up. > >There were also a number of unfortunate incidents at the Lido that >could have so nearly spelt the end for the swimmers' retreat. It >survived >two fires in 1968 and 1969, and there was panic in 1930 when a 10-ton >Southampton Corporation steam >roller raced across Western Esplanade and crashed into the walls >of the slipper baths. It was a miracle that no one was killed as there >were >15 men in the baths at the time. > >Throughout its existence, the Lido enjoyed huge popularity. Thousands >poured through the turnstiles to lounge around on the terraces, enjoy >a drink in the cafe and swim in the large pool. > >In the heatwave of 1976 more than 61,000 sunseekers passed-through the >gates to enjoy the great British summer. During the 1950s, 60s and early >70s the Lido pulled in massive summertime crowds, but when it blosed it >quickly became a sorry sight until it was cleared away in the early >1980s. > >--- >All of our outgoing mail is checked and certified Virus Free by regularl >updates >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.726 / Virus Database: 481 - Release Date: 22/07/2004 > _________________________________________________________________ Check out news, entertainment and more @ http://xtra.co.nz/broadband