It's not commonly known, but at one time you could pop on a pair of trunks or swimming costume and enjoy an afternoon swimming at Stanley Park lido.
Stanley Park in Anfield is one of the city's great Victorian parks and opened to the public in 1870. The Grade II* listed park was designed by renowned landscape designer, Edward Kemp, who was involved in laying out Birkenhead Park with designer Joseph Paxton.
Kemp's other work includes Newsham Park, Anfield cemetery, Hesketh Park in Southport, and Halton Grange in Runcorn. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, numerous features were added to the park, such as the introduction of the Grade II listed conservatory and bandstand (both added in 1899).
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Bowling greens were also created in the early and mid-20th century, as well as an open-air theatre in the 1940s. However, it's not commonly known but in 1923, an open-air swimming pool was created and remained in use until the early '60s when it was closed and subsequently demolished.
The Stanley Park lido was built in the corner of the boating lake and cost £6,515 to construct and measured 75 by 35 feet. According to heritage records, the pool was heated and had a paddling pool attached.
Speaking to the Chester Chronicle in 2005, Mike O'Boyle, from Kirkdale, looked back with great fondness on the open-air swimming pool that was a feature of the park for many years. Mike said: "I grew up in the 1930s and '40s, and back then not many people had baths in their houses.
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"Most people would go to the public baths but when it was hot we would go to the open-air pool in Stanley Park. In the summer there would be hundreds of kids there all splashing about and acting soft.
"But you would end up getting burned because I don't think anyone was using sun cream back then and you would be sore for days. The pool was great but in the end it fell into disrepair and was closed for good some time in the 1960s."
Despite closing in the early '60s, whenever old photographs have been uploaded on Facebook, people have taken to the comments with their memories. Despite records stating that the pool was heated, one of the overwhelming memories is that the pool was "freezing" even in the warmest months.
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When an image of the pool was uploaded to the Liverpool In Black And White Facebook group in 2017, one person said: "I remember it well, it was freezing even in the summer, but great as well." When another image of the pool was uploaded to the Merseyside In Focus Facebook group in 2021, several other commenters made the same observation.
One woman said: "I remember swimming here but the water was always cold!" While another woman posted: "Always freezing, even on the hottest days."
However, some people took to the comments, surprised by the fact that Stanley Park ever had a swimming pool. One woman said: "I had no idea this pool was ever there. Obviously no trace of it now, but I didn't know it was ever there! Looks fab!" While another woman posted: "Never knew they had a outside pool."
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
Perhaps the main reason the Stanley Park swimming pool isn't commonly known, is that after it closed it was demolished and no trace of it now exists. Records state the site of the pool was converted into gardens and grassland by the lakeside.
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