Historicising the spaces of leisure: open-air swimming and the lido movement in England

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of lidos—purpose-built, open-air swimming pools—in twentieth-century England. It draws on archival material on swimming and the lido movement in England and a spatial analysis of a lido in south London (UK). Lidos have often been neglected in sociological research on leisure and sport as they resist a straightforward equation with either rational recreation leisure provision or more democratised forms of mass culture. This paper applies Vignal et al's (2001) concept of ‘polymorphous’ practices in swimming to lidos to capture the complexity of the uses and meanings of lidos. It pays particular attention to historicising the lido movement and argues that we must do this in order to understand more fully the production of space at leisure sites. The paper therefore discusses the ways in which lidos are historically constructed social spaces that offer the swimmer and visitor a range of different experiences and encounters.

Keywords:

• lido
• swimming
• leisure
• space
• history
• polymorphous practices