At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 36,000 film and sound recordings relating to Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including film and tapes of local TV and radio.
This film is part of Free
Trip to Hilsea Lido
You can almost smell the chlorine in this delightful film about Hilsea's Lido in the late 1940s - which today is one of the last of its kind in the UK that is still open to the public.
From the collection of:
Overview
This remarkable film from 1949 shows the popularity of public lidos before the era of cheap foreign travel. Large numbers of children and adults can be seen enjoying themselves, splashing about in the water or diving from the high-boards. We see swimming races as well as a water-polo match, followed by some exhibition diving. These are followed by scenes of children playing on a sandy beach while a Constellation aircraft can be seen flying overhead.
Hilsea Lido was opened by Portsmouth City Council in 1935. It was part of a leisure complex which included gardens, a tennis court and an area for roller-skating and dancing. Designed by Joseph Parkin, the City Engineer, in a Modernist style, Hilsea Lido obtained its water from the sea at Portscreek. Before the water entered the pool it was filtered and aerated by the fountains, which can be seen in the film. Nowadays, the water comes directly from the mains. Sadly, the original site was reduced in size by a nearby road improvement scheme though the Lido remains open to this day, having been rescued by the specially formed Hilsea Lido Pool for the People Trust in 2008.
Related
Various views of Portsmouth Various views of Portsmouth
Amateur film 1961 4 mins Silent Location: Old Portsmouth
Summer in the early 60s is captured in this short film by F Howard which features divers at Hilsea Lido, Portsmouth's Garrison Church and numerous Isle of Wight ferries
St Barbara's Royal Garrison Church and Hilsea Barracks St Barbara's Royal Garrison Church and Hilsea Barracks
Amateur film 1963 6 mins Silent Location: Hilsea
Witness that last years of Hilsea Barracks in this short and wintry film from F Howard - featuring a community of buildings that have vanished from the map
A Day Out in Portsmouth A Day Out in Portsmouth
Amateur film 1958 15 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
Travel back to the Portsmouth of open markets, period shops, bomb sites, congested car parks, workers on bicycles and holiday crowds - all in glorious black & white
Hilsea Lido Hilsea Lido
Amateur film 1964 1 mins Silent Location: Hilsea
Hilsea Lido is the venue for this amazing short film from 1964 - where crowds of kids splash about, swim, slide and jump from high boards while parents look calmly on
The Building of the Eastern Road flyover on the M27 The Building of the Eastern Road flyover on the M27
Amateur film 1970 7 mins Silent Location: Hilsea
The roads around Portsmouth are about to be transformed with concrete and steel in this 1970 film from W J Evans.
History of Portsmouth History of Portsmouth
Amateur film 1937 24 mins Silent Location: Hilsea
This gem of a film shows pre-war Portsmouth and Southsea, in colour, before the Blitz and features its historic streets and buildings and holiday-makers on Southsea's beaches.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.