Lido Conservation Summary.pdf - Sandford Parks Lido

STAT E M E NT O F SIGNIFIC ANCE
Sandford Parks Lido (www.sandfordparkslido.org.uk),
which was opened in 1935, is a nationally important
example of a lido. Lidos were open-air swimming
and recreational landscapes that developed across
Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Their landscaping and
architecture spoke at the national level of the need to
improve health, the cult of sun worship that marked
Western culture in this period and the development of
recreation as a less segregated and more inclusive form
of cultural activity. At the local level they spoke of the
spirit of municipal competition and the desire to foster
a new type of place, which was clean, pleasant and
convivial, for the enjoyment of this new form of cultural
activity. Out of 98 surviving lidos in England, Wales and
Scotland, Sandford Parks Lido represents better than
any other lido how the planning of lidos presented
opportunities to link buildings to landscape and open
space, and thus harness the regenerative qualities of air
and sunlight.
Taken as a whole, Sandford Parks Lido is an outstanding
example of 20th century outdoor architecture, its design
being based on an integrated approach to its three
key elements – water, landscaping and architecture.
The whole site expresses the historic function and
importance of lidos, and their distinctive quality as
places created in the inter-war period, through its
setting, planning, landscape and design. It was built to
the designs of the Borough Engineer, G. Gould Marsland,
with the advice of the noted landscape architect
and horticulturalist Edward White. White held the
presidency of the newly-formed Landscape Architects
Association between 1931 and 1933, and as part of
the nationally renowned Milner White & Partners had
designed gardens for public parks and private houses.
This collaboration explains much about the character of
the lido, and in particular how it links to the adjoining
park and the influence of Arts and Crafts garden design
in its overall planning and the use of features such as
yew hedges and drystone walling. This style – which
was very influential on an international basis and
became strongly associated with the Cotswolds region
- was based on the idea of a return to traditional craft
skills and good building materials. At Sandford Parks
Lido it is expressed in the combination of the geometric
layout and the use of picturesque planting to provide
varied colour, form and shape. The needs for relaxation,
other forms of activity than swimming, and sun worship
are met in the integration of open lawned areas and
sun decks into the overall planning of the site. The
importance of refreshment is displayed in the café and
terraces, the former also being linked to Sandford Park
through the café garden and park cafe. The terraces
provided an additional vantage point, looking across
the pool, for relaxation and contemplation.
It is significant that the lido was developed within
Cheltenham, which is internationally renowned as a
spa town. Its villas and terraces had developed around a
series of spas dispersed around the town, and municipal
parks emerged as a fundamental aspect of the 19th
century town. Parks, including in this case Sandford
Park which it adjoins, continued to play a key part in the
20th century expansion of Cheltenham. The lido was
sited on the eastern edge of the 19th century town, and
provision for car parking was considered at the outset
to be fundamental to its viability and future.
Sandford Parks Lido is also a unique survival of industrial
archaeological importance. This is because the 1930s
engineering of the site, which was aimed at ensuring
water quality and purity, has survived complete. All
visitors to the site are greeted by the sight and sound
of the fountain, which is placed on the main design axis
of the site, but few are aware of the complex system of
underground pipes that linked the pools to the filtration
and heating plant which are sited in a building outside
the pool area.
VALUES
Change can undermine or enhance the character and
special qualities of this place, and must be informed
by an understanding of the values invested in it. To its
distinctive design, and importance within this national
context, must be added the special sense of place
afforded to visitors by its light, sounds and colour.
Set out below are a series of key values, which lido users
and the public have and will be asked to contribute to.
These have been divided into two categories of:
• A) what makes the lido significant in its broader
architectural and historic context and
• B) the benefits it affords to the community, as
a place of recreation, shared memories as
well as in terms of education and the broader
economy.
A1
Historic Value
Sandford Parks Lido is one of the best preserved lidos in
Britain. The lido also reflects important developments
in 20th century society, and in particular the growing
importance of leisure and more informal approaches
towards it.
2