CHARNEY HALL Grange Lido

Post Updated 23 April 2024 : See below
Post Updated 24 October 2024 : A short report of progress on Phase 1 of the project







It was in the Summer term that the school had sole access, twice a week, to the famous Art Deco open air salt water baths.

 Charney built their own pool in the kitchen garden after I left, perhaps in the 1960s. I have not found any photographs of the new facility, only Maxwell Duncan’s reference to it on an aerial photo (ref Photos from the Web 1) sourced by John Cranna.

I have mentioned my own experience in ‘Reminiscences’ and hope that other old boys will contribute.

Have you got the T shirt?


 A time line of the Grange Lido:

 https://www.savegrangelido.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/lido-timeline.pdf

 The following article dated 2019 indicates the present position regarding its future, courtesy of BBC:


POST UPDATE (1)


Brilliant News - Grange Lido To Reopen In 2024


After much wringing of hands….this link (above) appears to describe the current situation regarding the future of Grange Lido…however the comprehensive scheme illustrated below has been put on hold pending the availability of additional funds. 


The ‘Light Touch’ scheme approved by South Lakes District Council is intended to consolidate/refurbish the existing structure and buildings, thus preventing further serious deterioration whilst giving public access to the Lido with some compatible uses. The original swimming pool cross section will be covered with a temporary deck so that it can be brought back into the scheme should public sentiment dictate this and subject to further resources become available in the future.


The moral support received by the ‘Eden of the North’ in Morecambe where £50M of Government Match Funding has already been committed to this very ambitious project*, has been enthusiastically welcomed. Whilst no financial aid will become available, it is hoped that by linking the two schemes across the Bay the whole geographic area may benefit from joint initiatives. 







Save Grange Lido – Grange Lido is an historic community lido enriching everyone's lives


A Brief History of Grange Lido – Save Grange Lido


Grange Over Sands Lido, Grange-Over-Sands - 1402086 | Historic England


https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/business-and-trade/town-and-village-projects/grange-over-sands-lido-and-promenade/#:~:text=The%20plans%20include%20a%20new,before%20the%20end%20of%20March.


What’s Going On At The Lido? – Save Grange Lido




These depressing photographs show the effect of the Lido’s closure and the subsequent lack of planned maintenance of a Grade 2 Listed Building. The longer a building is left unattended, the more funds will have to be found to save it in the future until there comes a point in time when the powers that be decide that demolition is the only answer…this building should never have been allowed to deteriorate into this condition.

POST UPDATE (2)
Photographs 24 October 2024 : 


 



 

October 2024 : Work has been slowly progressing behind the metal screens across the Lido….Outside on the promenade the tarmac has been refinished to a point just short of the station. The original railings mounted on top of the concrete breakwater have been stabilized, repainted gloss black with golden post caps. Inside the building, the pool has been filled in and landscaped and paved. Outbuildings have been stabilised structurally in preparation for Phase 2 of the work which will entail the fitting-out of spaces for retail purposes - What an amazing transformation! Perhaps not what most people had envisaged but maybe more in line with the art of the possible, accepting the limited funds that have been made available to date and the relatively small returns that will be generated. 
 
Congratulations must go to the people of Grange-over-Sands, their advisors and patrons for achieving the impossible - a feat that in previous years eluded even the  keenest champions of this cause - Watch this space!

 

 The £125M approved ‘Eden of the North’ project in Morecambe :





















Comments

Andrew Holmes-Higgin said…
Thanks for the memory! As I recall I only ever went there once, probably in or around 1970 when we were all marched down the hill for some exercise on a very grey and wet cold day. The water in the pool was of course freezing and nobody wanted to go in. Someone (probably Mr Fawcett) was blowing a whistle and yelling orders to us all about what to do, but the only part I remember was being told to "Dive, boy, dive" from what I think was the lowest board which looked like a hundred feet above the water and though I tried to do a proper dive (I actually did know how to) I must have been paralyzed with fear and mostly fell into the water in a heap, which of course hurt. I surfaced to laughter and shame and a mouthful of seawater and shortly afterwards the light blue tinge of hypothermia we had all developed became too obvious to ignore and we were told to get out and get changed. I don't recall anyone ever going back down there again whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Even now when I pass the Lido on a train the dilapidation and decay just adds to the grim memory of the place. Though I do hope something can be done with the it, or at least the site.
27 October 2024 at 14:14
Keith Smith said…
Hi Andrew. Did you see the update 2 at the bottom of this old post. Particularly the photos that I took last weekend of the completion of the first phase?
If I carry out a meaningful update on a post I redate it so that it comes to the top of the pile!
28 October 2024 at 21:36
Keith Smith said…
PS You were so lucky. We had to cope with that water temperature every week in the summer term. There was an indicator showing that day’s reading so we knew what we were in for before we stepped out of the changing room. See my post ‘CHARNEY HALL Cedric Robinson who I recognised only a few years ago was at the young age of 29 our swimming instructor! Raymond Hirst used to plough up and down the length of the pool with a rather stylish crawl.
28 October 2024 at 21:57
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