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| Copyright Philip Watson (All Rights Reserved) www.flickr.com/rpw934 |
The water at Greenbank lido in Street,
Somerset, is always a toasty 30 degree Celsius. Temperature is
something of a preoccupation during my visits, as I’m in and out of
the pool a lot with my two children, who every five minutes alternate
playing between the pool and the fountains and slides at the far end
of the lido. One minute I’m luxuriating in the cosy water, the next
cold and wrapped in a towel while watching my kids dive in and out of
giant water spouts.
When I moved to
Street from Brighton six years ago I discovered my new home was
blessed with not one but two swimming pools. While the indoor pool
run by a council contractor serves its purpose it is Greenbank, the
lido built by the shoemaking Clarks dynasty who are still based in
Street, which is the real draw for swimmers and families.
There’s barely an inch of the village
that The Clarks family have not either owned, currently own or have
some kind of say in its running. They built my son’s primary
school, own the fields that are dotted between the houses, which they
in turn either still own or at least used to. The discount retail
park in the village centre still bears their name and the
distribution centre and headquarters of their shoe empire dominates
the local labour market.
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| Photo by Joe Lepper |
I’m a little uncomfortable with one
company controlling so much of my life, but I can’t deny this
millionaire family of Quakers have splashed their cash well at times,
in particular Alice Clark who created Greenbank in 1937. Part of
Alice’s motivation for developing the pool for local people was her
background as a suffragette and campaigner for women’s rights. At
the time the men and boys of street, many of whom used to work for
her family, used to swim naked in the River Brue, which separates
Street from its more bohemian neighbours in Glastonbury. With women
effectively excluded from this nude, post work dip, she decided to
plough some of the family gold into a place where they could swim.
It was gifted to the village after
completion and Greenbank remains a charitable trust to this day,
receives a grant from the local parish council which ensures the
spirit of Alice Clark lives on by giving local people a nice discount
on season tickets.
It is the key place for young people to
meet and the focus for family life in Street from May to September.
“When’s the outdoor pool opening,” says my eldest son regularly
during the winter months.
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| Copyright Philip Watson (All Rights Reserved) www.flickr.com/rpw934 |
Of those lidos that remain many are in
the urban south-east and London, but this is a prime example of a
well used rural lido that as soon as the temperature gets anywhere
above 18 degrees becomes packed. Even when it’s colder there are
still regular swimmers among its snug ripples. We use it even more as
recession bites and family life gets more expensive. We only live
around the corner from it so its no trouble on a warm Saturday
afternoon in June to march down there loaded down with our season
ticket, towels and snacks.
As well as being near to us, its
location within Street offers a constant reminder of it heritage and
rural setting. To one side cows and sheep graze in an adjacent field
and to the other side is the High Street and headquarters of Clarks,
complete with the giant, red brick chimney of this shoe family’s
old factory, high above the family fun below.
Joe Lepper is a freelance journalist.
For more information visit his website here
http://www.newsandfeatures.co.uk/
He also co-edits the music website Neonfiller
http://www.neonfiller.com
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