Remains Of The Clifton Baths At Cliftonville Lido

The Clifton Baths were constructed between 1824 and 1828 by John Boys at a cost of £15,000, excavated from the chalk cliff northeast of Margate harbour. An estimated 40,000 cubic yards of chalk was excavated and removed. The Gothic-style exterior of flint and stone was largely overbuilt by the buildings of the Cliftonville Lido, constructed from 1926 onwards, which are not of special interest. The remaining features of the Clifton Baths are below ground level, excavated out of the chalk cliffs and lined in brick or chalk blocks with some knapped flint visible.

Architectural Description

The complex comprises a circular chamber for the storage of bathing machines with eight alcoves, from which passages lead off to the east, west and northwest. A further passage, leading off the north side of the northwest passage, descends to the large rectangular Lower Reservoir, which was designed as a plunge bath for females and children.

The circular chamber is brick-lined in Flemish bond and measures 42 feet in diameter. It has eight round-headed arches with a thin brick string course at impost level and alcoves, some lined with chalk blocks, in which bathing machines were stored. The floor was constructed about ten feet above high water level. The circular shape made it easier for turning horses. Originally there was a domed roof 33 feet high which protruded above ground level. This was truncated in the 1920s when the above-ground lido buildings were built, and a concrete curved staircase and gallery were added after 1962 when the space was used as a nightclub.

From the eastern alcove, a wide chalk block-lined tunnel with vaulted roof, about 100 feet in length, 13 feet high and 10 feet wide, leads to the beach. This Bathing Machine Tunnel was used for bringing bathing machines to and from the beach pulled by horses. The mouth of the tunnel is now blocked and the original opening can be seen in the French Bar of the later Cliftonville Lido, which also preserves the flint revetment wall of the Bather's Terrace of the Clifton Baths. Halfway along the Bathing Machine Tunnel, a straight tunnel—the entrance tunnel—leads west. This was used by both staff and patrons and was wide enough for small vehicles. Only the curving lower portion is currently accessible, the rest cut off by 20th-century alterations.

From the west alcove, a curved Staircase Tunnel constructed of chalk-block walls with segmental brick vaulted roof with 34 steps provided access to ground level for foot passengers. This survives in a mutilated condition.

At the northwest end, a straight Horse Pump Tunnel 120 feet long, lined in brick with some knapped flints, communicated with the horse pump supplying sea water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir. Almost immediately in the northern wall of the Horse Pump Tunnel is a further narrower curved brick-lined tunnel, called the Reservoir Tunnel, leading to the Lower Reservoir.

The Lower Reservoir is a rectangular vaulted chamber about 80 feet long by about 18 feet wide, slightly wider at the outward northwestern end and with a rounded eastern end. It was originally open to the air at the far end through a huge archway. The reservoir was cut directly into the chalk with a high semi-circular vault of large chalk blocks, but the southwest wall has been extensively revetted in brick. It is thought that the reservoir walls were originally lined to a certain height with cement. A wide blocked cambered arch to the exterior is now visible in the Jolly Tar Tavern of the Cliftonville Lido. It is possible that John Boys' "self-acting valves" or other features may survive within the brick-lined apron at the northwest end. Other features of the Clifton Baths may survive beneath 1920s and later structures of the Cliftonville Lido which were superimposed on the earlier fabric.

Historical Context

Margate was in the forefront of sea bathing in the 18th century, with bathers taken into the sea in simple carts before a fully developed bathing machine appeared there by 1753. This was ascribed to a Quaker, Benjamin Beale, who added a "modesty" hood to the rear of a bathing machine, enabling the bather to enter the sea unobserved and offering some protection from wind and waves. By 1793 a guide to Margate speaks of 30 to 40 bathing machines in use at a time. Bathing rooms had been established at Margate in the 1750s to the southwest of the harbour, from which the bather descended an external staircase on the seaward side into a waiting bathing machine to enter the sea. In 1791 the Quaker physician John Coakley Lettsom established "The Margate Infirmary for the relief of the Poor whose Diseases require Sea-Bathing", which had its own bathing machines and later seawater baths.

An engraving of circa 1829 shows a Gothic-style fort-like structure with massive arch at sea level, buildings above with lancet windows, crenellated parapet and an obelisk-shaped chimney. A detailed description was published in 1830 by George Alexander Cooke, probably based on a visit three or four years earlier. The large dome provided storage for 20 to 30 bathing machines which were brought down a curving tunnel to sea level when required. A tunnel also led to the Lower Reservoir used as a plunge bath for women and children. A horse pump forced seawater from the Lower Reservoir to the Upper Reservoir where it supplied the water for the hot baths, the power supplied by a horse gin in the open air. An obelisk-shaped chimney served the boiler but was removed in the later 19th century.

A Bathing Room divided into two wings—the north for gentlemen and the south for ladies—had seven hot baths, shower baths and hip baths but was later demolished. There was a waiting room which was also a reading and subscription room, and a newsroom which had an organ and billiard table. The Upper Terrace had round-headed alcoves, seats and benches for enjoying the sea views. A bathers' terrace was erected by 1831. A second chimney was erected between 1833 and 1845.

In 1849 ownership of the Clifton Baths passed to John Boys' son, John Harvey Boys. A map from the Margate Sanitation survey of 1852 shows the subterranean plan of the Clifton Baths with the circular dome, a passage leading off to the northeast, a reading room, bathing room, reservoir, tank and horse pump and further subterranean passages. An engraving of circa 1860 shows a further obelisk-shaped chimney had been built by this date.

In 1869 the site was sold to Thomas Dalby Reeve who built a drill hall for the local Artillery Volunteers and a boiler house with tall chimney. These are shown on Bacon's map of Margate of 1875. In 1876 ozone baths were produced by an electrical process and in the 1880s an indoor saltwater swimming pool was provided at the northeast corner of the site. This appears on the 1907 Ordnance Survey map and survived until the mid-20th century. By 1903 a cinema had been installed into the former Drill Hall which was operational until 1924. In 1924 a theatre or concert hall was built east of the indoor swimming pool but was later demolished.

From 1926 onwards the Clifton Baths were remodelled under John Henry Iles, a leading figure in the amusement park industry between the wars, who also owned the Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate. The site was turned into a large modern seaside complex with bars, cafes and restaurants on several levels and a large open-air swimming pool projecting into the sea. These buildings were built onto and over the remaining parts of the Clifton Baths in a Neo-Classical style with Mediterranean influences, laid out over a series of terraces. From 1938 the name was changed from the Clifton Baths to the Cliftonville Lido.