• History of Ingleton Outdoor Swimming Pool

  • 1933

    Back in 1933, a meeting was held by interested parties, with the intention of building an lido (outdoor swimming pool) in Ingleton.

    The prime intention of the meeting was to agree a suitable site, and it was proposed to locate the pool at White Bridge, near the Cat Leaps. A subsequent vote settled on the current site, next to the river, as it was more conveniently placed, being closer to the village.

    At this time, JLE Construction & Co were building the Iron Bridge on the edge of the village on the Kirkby Lonsdale side of the A65. One of their engineers took an interest in the project and offered his professional advice on the construction side.

    In June 1933, the first sods were dug by Jim Howson, Arnie Robinson, Stan Tomlinson and Tommy Redhead. The task was boosted shortly after, when the miners from the local colliery went on strike and the majority helped dig out the pool.

    The pool was filled using a 3 inch bore pipe, which was gravity fed from the river. A competition was held to guess how long it would take to fill the pool. It took 25 hours, hence the pipe was replaced with a 6 inch bore in 1936. Swimming commenced immediately and a Mr Wilson looked after the pool as caretaker. Fundraising commenced, with a donation of £50 from Mr Worthington.

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    The pool was originally of concrete construction and 30m x 9m (approx.) and was only 0.5m deep at the shallow end, dropping to almost 3m at the deep end. Two buildings were constructed for male and female changing, and a three level diving board was place on the corner of the deep end.

  • 1934

    The official opening of Ingleton Swimming Pool took place in August 1934

    and was conducted by Harry Eustace Vant, a solicitor from Settle. A swimming gala was held in celebration with prizes presented to all participants by Mrs Worthington.

    Bob Pollard became the first 100yds champion, having borrowed the money to enter the race! Jim Wilkinson won the first ‘fastest swimmer’ event.

    The first secretary of the pool was J.S. Howson, who was succeeded by Jim Howson (no relation).

    The pool had been built on manor land, without permission, but the owners kindly donated the land to the Parish Council, and the site is still rented from them for a peppercorn rent (one shilling or 5 pence per annum).

    1934

  • 1974

    In 1974, the pool had a major facelift

    and was virtually rebuilt. As the pool was now to be heated and chlorinated, the cost of the equipment to do this was prohibitive and this resulted in the pool being reduced in size to 20m x 8m.

    The modernisation was undertaken as part of a package of improvements to the village, such as the construction of the community centre on the site of the old railway station, and was funded by the government.

    To enable the pool to take advantage of the grants available, the control of the pool came under the umbrella of the Ingleton Rural Community Association, where it remains today.

  • 2005

    Further improvements were made

    to the filtration system which ironically, with the new equipment it could now have serviced the pool volume as it was in its original size.

    A new changing block was officially opened in July 2005, boasting showering facilities, private changing booths and under floor heating. Some improvements to accessibility for disabled people have also taken place, with the introduction of a ramp to the entrance, and disabled changing/toilets.

    2005

  • 2013

    New seating and high level seating terrace

    were introduced.  The seating banks were upgraded and the construction of a high level seating area including tables and chairs was introduced.

  • 2021

    Splash Zone features and redevelopment

    of some of the pools areas was completed in the Spring of 2021.  The original larger Splash Zone design had to be scaled down following funding and grant issues.

    Following the complete closure of the swimming pool for the summer 2020 season, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the committee and volunteers decided this created an opportunity to push on with the major works.  The existing Office was completely upgraded and the outside area by the main entrance had a complete new redesign.  This included the introduction of a new seating and picnic area with BBQ facilities, a new bike parking area and additional handrails.

    Inside the pool, the major new Splash Zone addition was a replica of Thornton Force, named one of the finest waterfalls in England.  This has been named Tooby’s Torrent, as a special thank you to Walter Tooby for all his hard work looking after the pool for 60 years.  Children can play in the waters or sit under the waterfall.

    These works represented the largest improvements to the pool since 1974.

    2021

  • Present day

    As part of the day to day running of the pool,

    during the summer season it employs a Manager and Lifeguards as part of its operational requirements, but without the help of unpaid volunteers, who organise fund-raising, man swimming sessions and maintain and clean the pool each season, the pool could not operate today or have survived over the years. It is to these unselfish, under recognised souls , both past and present, that this web site is dedicated.