How deep is Hilsea Lido? The history of Britain's deepest lido
Fifteen feet deep, opened in 1935, a film set for Ken Russell's Tommy, and the story of an area that means holly island.
Hilsea Lido was originally 4.6 metres (15 feet) deep, making it the joint deepest outdoor pool in the UK with Broomhill Pool, according to Wikipedia. It opened on 24 July 1935 and has since been reduced to 2.6 metres in stabilisation work.
Your lido was 15 feet deep, the joint deepest outdoor pool in Britain. Hilsea Lido has had a remarkable life, and so has the area around it.
The short answer
Wikipedia says Hilsea Lido was originally 4.6 metres (15 feet) deep, calling it the deepest outdoor pool in the UK apart from Broomhill Pool, which has the same depth. That is why we say "joint deepest". It opened on 24 July 1935. Since then the depth has been reduced to 2.6 metres in stabilisation work. Time Out has also called it the UK's deepest lido.
The film set
Hilsea Lido appears in Ken Russell's rock film Tommy, standing in for Bernie's Holiday Camp. Wikipedia, a Portsmouth News photo caption and the Heritage Fund all confirm that it appears in the film. Sources give filming as 1974 and release as 1975, so we do not put a single year on it.
What does Hilsea mean?
Hilsea probably means "holly island", from a hypothetical Old English word Hylesieg suggested by the place-name scholar Ekwall. Alternatives exist, such as sea holly or a piece of raised land in marsh, which is why we say "probably". Early spellings include Helesye in 1236 and Hulleseie in 1248.
Eight defenders at Portsbridge
In 1642, during the siege of Portsmouth, Royalist guns were withdrawn on 10 August. On the evening of 12 August, about 20 Parliamentarians attacked, and the defenders, numbering just eight, put up little resistance, according to Wikipedia. The Hilsea Lines article says the position was held by as few as eight men.
Obsolete before they were finished
The Hilsea Lines, the current fortifications, were built between 1858 and 1871. According to Wikipedia, the 1859 Royal Commission and new rifled artillery made them obsolete before completion. Portsmouth City Council says the Lines have never been used in battle. Historic England lists them as a scheduled monument.
The airport that is now a housing estate
Hilsea had its own airport. Portsmouth (Hilsea) Airport opened in July 1932 and the last official flight was on 31 December 1973. It had grass runways. The site later became Anchorage Park, a housing development.
What we left out
We did not use a claim that the Hilsea Lines were dynamited for the airport in 1932 because it is a single source. We also left out a claim that the lido originally used seawater from Port Creek, because a council-linked source calls it freshwater and we could not confirm either.
At a glance
Opened: 24 July 1935.
Original depth: 4.6 metres (15 feet), now reduced to 2.6 metres.
Film role: Bernie's Holiday Camp in Tommy.
Name: probably holly island.
Airport: July 1932 to 31 December 1973. One source, the UK Airfield Guide, says the failure to upgrade from grass runways closed it, so we simply say it closed on New Year's Eve 1973.
Watch the reel
The Hilsea reel, with the 15-foot lido, did very well for us. Watch it on the Waterlooville.co Facebook page, and follow us there for a new local history story every day.
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