Reflections on the water… a deep dive into West Suffolk’s much missed swimming facilities

Andy started working at the Belle Vue pool in 1976 – the summer of a great heatwave a little like the one we are currently going through. What does he remember of those days?‘

“Well the footbaths were later confirmed as spreaders of disease rather than cleansers. The bromine always made them look dirty and perhaps they passed on rather than prevented verrucas. The cold shower was very much a challenge for certain users. Mainly men of a certain age used them, seeming to relish the reminder of cold water showers in the army or schools.”

“And I always thought the Friday and Saturday night illegal swims were busier than some daytime openings. In the early 1960s swimmers had to be extra careful and quiet as the police station overlooked the pool. Chatting to retired police officers in the 1980s I’ve a feeling that they may also have gone for a moonlight dip.”

Andy’s assembly of old photos, press cuttings and quotes from swimmers is well worth a look if you fancy a nostalgic plunge into the archives.

Meanwhile the first swimming pool in Bury St Edmunds was in Maynewater Lane behind the appropriately named Bath cottage. The instigator of this in 1870 was Lot Jackaman, builder of the Corn Exchange and Bath Cottage, who supposedly had gleaned this idea after a visit to Germany. There is little evidence of it there now at the rear of Bath Cottage which backs onto Greene King property.

Two sisters, Betty and Joan Ransome, born in 1921 and 1923, were interviewed by the historian Martyn Taylor for his book Bury St Edmunds Memories. Betty recalled: “One of the funniest things I remember  is swimming among frogs which got into the Brewery swimming baths by Maynewater Lane!”

In 1922 a brand new open air swimming baths at The Playfields at Kings Road was opened by the Mayor, Cllr J Parkington. It was a great amenity for the time, but the water never got much above 15 degrees celsius. There were hot baths adjacent which could be used for a fee. Near to the swimming baths were furnaces where household refuse collected by dustcarts was burned to drive turbines to generate electric power – these also heated the baths.

In those days, the norm for many people was to bathe in a tin bath, probably in front of a roaring fire. Filling the bath with sufficient water was time consuming, and in most cases the water was multi-used by other members of the family. Therefore a visit to partake of the ‘slipper baths’, if you could afford it, was a pleasure. So though an unheated outdoor swimming pool, it was well-used. Lido charges  in 1968 were, adults 1s 6d entrance and juveniles (under 15) 6d. Towel and soap hire would cost 9d and spectators had to pay 6d.

Photo above – Members of Bury’s Early Morning Swimming Club (Picture courtesy of Martyn Taylor)

The Bury St Edmunds Sports and Leisure Centre, with a heated pool, opened in 1975 off Beetons Way. It had been commissioned by what was then the borough council on land once owned by the War Department (site of the Gibraltar Barracks) but had passed into ownership of the Suffolk County Council. The heated swimming pool was far more inviting and replaced the old open air alternative on The Playfields, which was then demolished.

In the early hours of March 19th, 1980 the Bury St Edmunds Sports and Leisure Centre caught fire and burnt down. Some 70 firemen with 14 fire-tenders fought the conflagration, but the £1 million pound centre could not be saved. Though only five years old, the re-build cost would end up four times its original price.  The loss to the community was enormous with 28 clubs and the general public unable to use the facilities. At first it was thought the fire had been accidental but subsequent fires in the town, such as at the Bury Free Press offices in Kings Road proved that an arsonist was at work.

Fire was again to rear its ugly head in the luckless story of the Leisure Centre. In September 2004, during a refurbishment of the 25 metre long pool, fire broke out in the roof. The refit this time would cost £7 million pounds and would not reopen until February 2006.

Two other swimming pools in the town are at the Moreton Hall Health Club and the Bannatyne Health Club at Clarice House. A private swimming pool in the grounds of Beech Hill, Hospital Road, was used by NHS workers, compliments of the property owner, though no longer.