Shoalstone Seawater Pool in Brixham, Devon is one of the few remaining tidal-fed pools in the UK. It’s been welcoming bathers for the last 100 years and, after fears that it could be lost to the sea, work is finally underway to ensure that it sticks around for future generations.
Over the decades Shoalstone has gradually been beaten down by crashing waves and winter storms. Every year volunteers from the Shoalstone Seawater Pool Community Interest Company patch it up, but two years ago, they declared that it wasn’t enough. With a crack widening in the ocean facing wall, they warned that if major work wasn’t carried out, the pool would only last five more years at best.
A crowdfunder was launched and raised just over £56,000. Alongside a £500,000 grant from the local government and support from Torbay and Brixham councils, enough money was raised for work to get underway in the summer. The pool has been closed to swimmers since July to allow for the £750,000 reconstruction project, which includes installing a new deep end, a raised deck, replacing railings, and reinforcing the walls. It’s not clear exactly when it’ll reach completion.
Tim Grimes, a structural coastal engineer working on the pool told the BBC that work has been ‘complicated by how the pool has changed over the years’. It’s built on top of a natural rock pool that the Victorians used to swim in and two walls were added in 1896 to retain the tidal water that flooded in. Grimes explained: ‘When it gets pounded by the waves, everything moves and acts independently, so the new scheme will stitch it back together so it can withstand these larger storms we are seeing.’
Although Shoalstone has technically existed since those walls were added, it wasn’t until 1926 that it began operating as the pool you see today. So, next year it’s planning to put on a series of events to celebrate its 100th birthday. Volunteers said that more money still needs to be raised to paint and improve facilities once the structural work is over. You can keep up to date on the progress of the project here.
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