Hoddesdon Open air Pool 1849 -2009
The pool, affectionately known as 'The Spinney', is adjacent to a grade II listed building known as The Spinning Wheel. Originally called the Italian cottage, it was built in 1849 in a style influenced by Swiss and Northern Italian architecture.
Its owner was Septimus Warner, the seventh son of John Warner. The Warner family owned a successful London bell casting Company.
In the 1920s the house became a road house which catered mainly for cyclists, hence its name, 'The Spinning Wheel'
In the late 1920s it became a private sports club with the addition of an outdoor pool.
In 1945 a Councillor Battson suggested to Hoddesdon Urban District Council that the town required a swimming pool and in 1946 the sports club was purchased.
Opening was delayed due to war time austerities and the shortage of building materials. However with politcal impetus and resolve Hoddesdon Open air Swimming Pool opened to the public in 1949.
[thanks to Sarah Green - www.lowewood.com for further infomration]
For 60 years it has been a much-loved community facility serving local people and those from further afield. It has been well used by schools and swimming clubs alike.
Councillors with considerably less vision and regard for public needs than Councillor Battson decided to close the pool in 2009.
The Olympic Borough of Broxbourne has lost at least 4 pools within a 1 mile radius in the last eight years:
- The Broxbourne School Pool [1999]
- Wormley JMI School pool [2008]
- The Broxbourne Lido,owned by the Lee Valley Park Authority, [2009]
- Hoddesdon Open Air Pool [2009]
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