See also:

Swimming History

Leicester: Swim City

Cambridge Swimming History

Oxford Swimming History

Plymouth Hoe

Swimming today is more about health and safety than about cleanliness, exercise and fun. But for a moment, think back to the days when men and boys were being chased out of rivers and lakes and drawn into newly built indoor pools. How could people - especially the poor - be tempted to pay to swim and bathe indoors when they could have just as much fun outside for free? Warm water, diving boards, rings and trapezes drew in big crowds. Boys would gather outside the baths begging for entry money, once inside, a circus of fun awaited them in the swimming pool - the cheapest way to get clean. Watch this video and get some idea of what lay in store for those early indoor bathers.

'Things have certainly changed over the last century. Whereas people used to enjoy a nearby river or lake as a bathing place, local authorities came to provide 'improved' conditions for swimmers, with both outdoor and indoor pools. Lidos provided a respectable place for sunbathing, and so swimmers left the river to take advantage of these new swimming holes, only to find that when the lidos closed down, their access to the river had been barred. In effect these man-made baths imprisoned wild swimmers, separating them from the joys of nature. As for the resistant few, those that still swim near to cities, they have been treated with prejudice and branded as criminals so that others do not copy their example. Dark and Lonely Water (featured below) a TV safety film released in 1973, alerted the nation to the near certainty of drowning should a child venture too close to a pond or lake. Parents were terrified and their children had nightmares as the Grim Reaper was shown lurking ready to claim the lives of 'the fool', 'the show off' and those ignoring 'no swimming' signs. Rumors about the dangers of wild swimming in rivers and lakes ensure that the majority now swim indoors.' Hung Out to Dry page 139.

 Loughborough: The Parish Church of ALL SAINTS

This sad tale reveals the devastating impact on the community that results from death by drowning. These deaths occurred at a time when swimming and bathing had only just returned to acceptance. Likely the boys were bathing when they got into difficulties and none knew how to swim.