Diving in for history task
AN architectural historian swam more than 2.5km at Batley Baths in a bid to highlight the importance of historic public swimming pools.
Dr Ian Dungavell, director of national heritage charity the Victorian Society, is visiting each of England’s listed Victorian and Edwardian public pools and swimming a lap for every year the buildings have been standing.
His epic task, which will see him swimming a distance of just more than 20 miles, began with 104 lengths at Grade II-listed Bramley Baths in Leeds.
At Batley he swam 115 lengths (2,645m) to mark the 115 years of the building’s history.
Three of England’s 13 listed Victorian and Edwardian public pools are in West Yorkshire – Batley, Bramley and Queensbury, in Bradford.
The challenge will finish with 116 laps at Dulwich Leisure Centre on August 29.
Swimming a total of 1,438 laps at 13 pools over the summer, he will cover a distance equivalent to crossing the Dover Strait of the English Channel.
Dr Dungavell said: “It is a big task, but the distance should be far longer than it is. With well over 50 listed Victorian and Edwardian pool buildings dotted around England, it is shocking that only 13 remain in use and open to the public, while many of the others have been closed and left to rot.
“Pool buildings are notoriously hard to find new uses for. All too often, a decision to close them is effectively a decision to write these nationally significant buildings off. We must work hard to ensure that adequate funding and expertise is available to keep our remaining historic pools open to everyone for many years to come.”
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Weather for Batley
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 3 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
