Historic women's pleasure pool up for sale

Opened in 1903, the Grade II-listed King’s Meadow open-air swimming pool was designed by Borough Engineer and Surveyor John Bowen as a pleasure bathing pool for women to complement the 1864 men’s bathing pool already on the site. The men’s pool has since been demolished, but the women’s pool continued in use until the 1970’s. A vigorous local campaign in 2004 won listed status for the derelict lido and a pledge from the Council to look for fresh investment for the site. Now the pool and nearby Caversham Lock Island have been put on the market with priority promised to bids which retain all or part of the listed building in swimming or leisure use.

‘We’re delighted that Reading Borough Council is working to find a viable use for King’s Meadow Pool,’ said Heloise Brown, Conservation Adviser of the Victorian Society. ‘In the right hands, this rare and fine example of a complete Edwardian lido could be a real asset for the region. There is an awful lot of local support for the pool as the King’s Meadow Campaign has shown. Now all it needs is a good owner.’

For information about buying King’s Meadow Pool, please contact Lambert Smith Hampton 0118 959 8855.