1933
Back in 1933, a meeting was held by interested parties, with the intention of building an lido (outdoor swimming pool) in Ingleton.
The prime intention of the meeting was to agree a suitable site, and it was proposed to locate the pool at White Bridge, near the Cat Leaps. A subsequent vote settled on the current site, next to the river, as it was more conveniently placed, being closer to the village.
At this time, JLE Construction & Co were building the Iron Bridge on the edge of the village on the Kirkby Lonsdale side of the A65. One of their engineers took an interest in the project and offered his professional advice on the construction side.
In June 1933, the first sods were dug by Jim Howson, Arnie Robinson, Stan Tomlinson and Tommy Redhead. The task was boosted shortly after, when the miners from the local colliery went on strike and the majority helped dig out the pool.
The pool was filled using a 3 inch bore pipe, which was gravity fed from the river. A competition was held to guess how long it would take to fill the pool. It took 25 hours, hence the pipe was replaced with a 6 inch bore in 1936. Swimming commenced immediately and a Mr Wilson looked after the pool as caretaker. Fundraising commenced, with a donation of £50 from Mr Worthington.
The pool was originally of concrete construction and 30m x 9m (approx.) and was only 0.5m deep at the shallow end, dropping to almost 3m at the deep end. Two buildings were constructed for male and female changing, and a three level diving board was place on the corner of the deep end.
1934
The official opening of Ingleton Swimming Pool took place in August 1934
and was conducted by Harry Eustace Vant, a solicitor from Settle. A swimming gala was held in celebration with prizes presented to all participants by Mrs Worthington.
Bob Pollard became the first 100yds champion, having borrowed the money to enter the race! Jim Wilkinson won the first ‘fastest swimmer’ event.
The first secretary of the pool was J.S. Howson, who was succeeded by Jim Howson (no relation).
The pool had been built on manor land, without permission, but the owners kindly donated the land to the Parish Council, and the site is still rented from them for a peppercorn rent (one shilling or 5 pence per annum).
1934
In 1974, the pool had a major facelift
and was virtually rebuilt. As the pool was now to be heated and chlorinated, the cost of the equipment to do this was prohibitive and this resulted in the pool being reduced in size to 20m x 8m.
The modernisation was undertaken as part of a package of improvements to the village, such as the construction of the community centre on the site of the old railway station, and was funded by the government.
To enable the pool to take advantage of the grants available, the control of the pool came under the umbrella of the Ingleton Rural Community Association, where it remains today.