This article is about the lido in Penzance, Cornwall. For the lido in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, see Jubilee Park Swimming Pool. For the swimming pool in Bristol, see Jubilee Swimming Pool.
Jubilee Pool (Cornish: Poll Jubile)[2] is an Art DecolidoinPenzance, Cornwall. It is Grade II listed, being recognised as the finest surviving example of its type with the exception of Saltdean Lido.[3] With a capacity of 5 million litres and 600 swimmers and measuring 300 feet long and 160 feet wide, it is the UK's largest seawater pool.[4][5][6]
The plan to build a pool in Penzance became something of a political issue, with local councillors seeing it as a choice between the pool or improving the town's water supply.[7] One town councillor predicted the project would be "the biggest white elephant Penzance has ever had".[8]
The lido was designed between 1931 and 1934 to be built on Battery Rocks, which was already a popular bathing spot, to designs by Captain Frank Latham, the Borough Engineer of Penzance.[9][10] Its design has been described as "Art Deco", "Art Nouveau-styled" and "cubist-inspired",[11][8][12] and is reportedly influenced by the shape of a seagull in flight.[13]
Visitor numbers declined after the 1970s, when the popularity of lidos waned, and the pool fell into disrepair.[12] It was closed in 1992,[15] but was restored and made a listed building after the formation of the Jubilee Pool Association (later called the Friends of Jubilee Pool).[16]
The pool had a revival in 1994 with a 'Grand Re-opening' and Penzance-born actress Jan Harvey launching the lido's new season.[17]
The lido suffered "serious structural damage" during the winter storms in February 2014, with changing rooms and terraces being demolished and the floor of the pool being destroyed.[12][18] It was repaired at a cost of £2.94m which was raised by the local community as well as with grants from the Power to Change Trust and the Coastal Communities Fund.[19] Jubilee Pool re-opened in May 2016.[12] In both 2016 and 2017, the lido had around 40,000 visitors.[20]
As of 2021, Jubilee Pool is owned by 1400 local shareholders and is run as a social enterprise.[24] Design writer Dominic Lutyens included Jubilee Pool in his collection of the best public swimming pools in the world in August 2022.[25]
