Kings Meadow Swimming Pool

Kings Meadow Swimming Pool is a women's outdoor swimming pool built in 1902, with minor alterations made in the late 20th century. It was designed and constructed by John Bowen, the Borough Engineer and Surveyor, at a cost of £4,890, with ironwork produced by Allen & Kidgell at their Caversham Bridge Engineering Works. The pool features red and white brick with ashlar dressings and plain tile roofs, although the original canopy roofs have been replaced with 20th-century corrugated iron.

Inside, the pool measures 120 feet long and 45 feet wide, surrounded by a covered loggia with a timber roof or canopy supported by ornate cast-iron columns with elaborate brackets. The entrance building is octagonal and projects from the center of the long south side, topped with a tall tile roof featuring four small dormers that have tile-hung sides and timber brackets supporting the gables. The main entrance has a central doorway with a bold ashlar pediment that displays a shield with the date '1902'. There are two windows on either side of the octagon and seven windows on each side, with single windows at the chamfered ends. All windows are linked by a moulded ashlar cill band and are currently boarded up. The left end of the building has a single tall chimney stack, and the external walls are made of orange brick with a white brick band above, while the three remaining sides are blind.

Originally, this pleasure bathing pool was designed to allow Edwardian women to bathe in privacy. It was initially supplied with water from the Thames but was converted to a mains supply in the 1950s. Kings Meadow Swimming Pool is an extremely rare and well-preserved example of a complete Edwardian lido.