Its future has been uncertain but memories of Hilsea Lido will live on thanks to a £24,500 grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. This Learning Links (PACE) project saw artist Jez Stevens working with community learners and volunteers and collaborating with Wessex Film and Sound Archive and Chichester University to celebrate the architectural heritage of the Lido and the role it has played in the life of the local community.

Interest in the pool’s history has recently been revived as a result of an ongoing debate about its future. The material collected during the project has been lodged with Wessex Film and Sound Archive. The original 60 seconds of archive footage available in spring 2007 has been augmented to nearly 20 minutes and includes material shot in 1949. Along with the cine footage, the project recorded around 60 minutes of oral history recordings collected by the artist and the project volunteers.

You can view much of the content at a recently launched Web site at www.hilsea-lido.co.uk.

Don’t forget the Hilsea Lido Pool for the People web site at www.hilsea-lido.org.uk.