Jesus Green Swimming Pool
Encyclopedia
Lido
The Lido is an 11 km long sandbar located in Venice, northern Italy, home to about 20,000 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido every September.-Geography:...
situated on Jesus Green
Jesus Green
Jesus Green is a park in the north of central Cambridge, England. It is located north of Jesus College, hence the name. Jesus Ditch runs through Jesus Green. On the northern edge of Jesus Green is the River Cam, with Chesterton Road on the opposite side. To the east is Victoria Avenue and beyond...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Opened in 1923, it is one of the few remaining examples of the lidos built across the country in the 1920s — open air pools with space for activities other than swimming. Unusually, the pool is significantly longer than it is wide — this was a design idea to mimic swimming in the nearby river. It opens for public bathing between May and September every year.
Jesus Green, though only 15 yards (13.7 m) wide, is among the longest outdoor swimming pools in Europe at 100 yards (91.4 m) in length (the largest freshwater lido is Tooting Bec Lido
Tooting Bec Lido
Tooting Bec Lido is an open-air fresh water swimming pool in South London. It is the largest swimming pool by surface area in the United Kingdom, being 100 yards long and 33 yards wide....
in London, which is the same length, but 33 yards (30.2 m) wide).
It has a depth of 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) at each end, and a maximum depth of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in the centre. Diving is allowed into the centre section of the pool. On busy days, the pool is delineated into lanes, with general recreational swimming occupying two thirds of the pool's width, and a fitness lane taking up the other third.
Located alongside the River Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
opposite Chesterton Road
Chesterton Road, Cambridge
Chesterton Road is a road in the north of Cambridge, England. The southwestern part of the road is known as Chesterton Lane. This links with Northampton Street at the junction with Castle Street to the northwest and Magdalene Street leading southeast across the River Cam into central Cambridge...
between Jesus Lock
Jesus Lock
Jesus Lock is a lock on the River Cam in the north of central Cambridge, England. This is Lock No. 1 on the navigable portion of the River Cam. It was built in 1836 and is the only lock in the city. Jesus Green Lock Cottage, the former lock-keeper's cottage, is by the lock on Jesus Green...
and Victoria Avenue Bridge
Victoria Avenue Bridge
Victoria Avenue Bridge is a single-arch road bridge across the River Cam in Cambridge, England. Immediately to the north is Chesterton Road and a major junction with Victoria Road and Milton Road....
, the pool has sunbathing space and is paved on one side with grass on the other.
Despite past attempts to shut it down, it has remained open and remains as one of the defining features of Cambridge in summer time. In 1997, the pool facilities were upgraded, with new shower and toilet facilities added, although the new design was complained about, due to problems with the architecture and plumbing. Despite the upgrades, the pool still retains most of its original features and remains of interest from a historical point of view.
There are separate male and female changing facilities, and domed structures containing showers at either end. An innovative basket room has been created for visitors who need to store their valuables in a safe location (the name refers to the numbered baskets allocated to customers).
There is a much smaller outdoor pool upstream of the city centre at Sheep's Green, and swimming in the Cam remains popular near Grantchester
Grantchester
Grantchester is a village on the River Cam or Granta in Cambridgeshire, England. It is listed in the Domesday Book as Grantesete and Grauntsethe...
.
In Media
A short film titled "Jesus Green Pool" was produced in 2004 by amateur director Chris Cox. The film emphasizes the seasonal nature of the pool by documenting a single summer at the pool; from opening in the Spring, to closing in the Autumn. It was shown at the Cambridge Film FestivalCambridge Film Festival
The Cambridge Film Festival is one of the biggest film festivals in the UK. The festival historically took place during early July, but now takes place annually during September in Cambridge....
in the summer of 2005. and the full version of the film is available to view freely online.
External links
- Facebook page.
- Twitter Stream — a TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
channel to provide live updates of water temperature and weather closures. - Pool information from Cambridge City CouncilCambridge City Council, EnglandCambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, based in the city of Cambridge.-Activities:The council provides various facilities and services within the city...
. - Lidos in the UK
- Feature about a film from BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
CambridgeshireCambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
.