Parliament Hill Fields Lido

Parliament Hill Fields Lido is an open-air swimming facility built between 1937 and 1938 by architect Harry Arnold Rowbotham for the London County Council Parks Department. The lido features patterned stock brick construction with flat roofs that are concealed behind parapets. It has a rectangular layout, with the entrance located on the south side, flanked by changing rooms. To the east is a filtration plant, and to the west are offices, all housed within a single-storey U-shaped building. This design continues with walls that shield sunbathing terraces to the north, which are situated on either side of a single-storey café featuring a curved moderne-style front.

In the center of the lido is a swimming pool measuring 60 meters by 27 meters, equipped with fountains or aerators on either side. The buildings are fitted with small metal windows, except for the café, which boasts large glazed panels with horizontal metal glazing bars that extend across double doors at the center.

Historically, this lido is noted as the most sophisticated of the thirteen lidos constructed by the London County Council between 1909 and 1939. No other British city undertook such an extensive program, and Parliament Hill Fields is regarded as the best example of rectangular pools enclosed by high walls in urban settings.