This page describes some of the history of the Portishead Open Air Pool; please contact us if you've got any useful information, or to correct any errors.
Do you have interesting stories or pictures about Portishead Open Air Pool and its past?
We are preparing a booklet on the history of open air swimming in Portishead from the late 1800's until the present day.
If you have any interesting stories or photographs on Redcliffe Bay, Sugarloaf Beach, Battery Point and the Lake Grounds,or Portishead Open Air Pool (including its construction) please contact 07895 099625 or email jill.openairpool@btinternet.com
All contributors will be acknowledged in the booklet.
It is planned that the booklet will be on Sale during the 2010 Pool Season and all profits will go to the Portishead Pool Community Trust
Historical overview
The Portishead open air pool first opened in April 1962 when the population of Portishead was about 10,000. Originally hot water was delivered to the site in a tanker from the Albright and Wilson factory four to five times a day; in 1969 the council installed an oil fired boiler to the site.
The pool was built by excavating the bedrock and pouring a reinforced concrete pool, this type of structure is inherently stable and will not suffer from any movement. For the purposes of this plan we have assumed that the lifetime of the pool when properly maintained will be in excess of 150 years and therefore at 46 years old the pool has the potential to last at least another 100 years.
The boiler was installed in 1969 and is a very robust and efficient design, with the proposed reduced duty cycle it is envisaged that the boiler will not require replacement within the next 20 years, although our plan is to heat the pool using solar power in the near future.
