The pool hall at Swindon Health Hydro. At 33m this is the biggest pool Ian has visited, requiring him to swim just under 4km. Image courtesy of the Victorian Society.
Rebecca Adlington's record-breaking swim in Beijing may have ignited a burst of patriotic affection from the nation but Britain's love affair with the pools has a long and enduring history.
It is a point being highlighted by architectural historian, Dr Ian Dungavell, who this week completes an attempt to visit each of the country's listed Victorian and Edwardian public pools and swim a lap for every year the buildings have been standing.
Dungavell, who began his 1000 year swim in Bramley Baths West Yorkshire has so far clocked up a distance of 22 miles, equivalent to crossing the Channel, in his epic attempt to draw attention to the plight of Britain's dwindling supply of listed pools.
Dr Ian Dungavell at Chelsea Sports Centre in West London. Image courtesy of the Victorian Society.
"It's been a tough but fabulous experience," said Dr Dungavell. "The swim has taken me to some of England's best-loved local landmarks and hidden gems. I've met many people who are passionate about the future of Britain's Victorian and Edwardian pools"
Once Britain led the world as the supreme swimming nation, widely acknowledged as the 'best swimmers in the world'.
The nation's obsession reached fever pitch in 1875, when Captain Matthew Webb successfully completed a cross channel swim prompting a boom in the building of municipal pools. By 1911 there were 600 of them.
Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham - the only Grade II*-listed Edwardian pool in which it's still possible to swim. Image courtesy of the Victorian Society.
Now, with only 14 of the 50 remaining open to the public, many, like the Grade 2 listed Ashton-Under-Lyne have been consigned to history. Others, like Hackney's Haggerston Baths are threatened with closure or are subjects of a local campaign.
"We must work hard to ensure that adequate funding an expertise is available to keep our remaining pools open to us for many years to come," says Dungavell.
Dr Ian Dungavell will be at Dulwich Leisure Centre from 6.30pm on Friday 29 August. For more information about the 1000 Year Swim, visit www.1000yearswim.com
For more information about the Victorian Society go to the Victorian Society website
