Features / swimming pool
Community pool that helps people ‘pull through’
Sandwiched between houses on Jubilee Road is a pool that first opened in 1937. Ever since, Jubilee Pool has been at the heart of the Knowle community with it most recently being taken over by community group Friends of Jubilee Pool.
Friends of Jubilee Pool (FoJP) – who are also a registered charity – were involved in an asset transfer of the pool from Bristol City Council that was formalised on October 1, 2023. This means that they now have a 35-year full-repairing lease to run the pool.
Involved in everything from installing new roofs to ensuring the back door doesn’t stay open through the night is a team of people who know Knowle, love Knowle and care for the pool like their own.
is needed now More than ever
Member of FoJP, Rachel Heaton says it has been possible to run the pool only because of the unconditional support from Lex Leisure, who take care of the pool on an everyday basis.
A gym with 15 working stations is another facility at the pool
Heaton added: “We had a ‘Jubilee-a-thon’ which raised 30 grand to pay for the community asset transfer.
“And then we managed to get the community asset transfer in super quick time. So we’ve got the keys, and then we’re like oh my god, now what? We wouldn’t have been able to do it without Lex Leisure.
“They’ve been absolutely amazing.”
Lovers of the pool would flock to the place on Sunday afternoons, spending hours mending little things like water seeping through the roof into buckets, broken doors that were falling off and lockers that needed repair.
On this winter day, Jerry Hatcher had just finished his swim and was waiting for his turn to talk about Jubilee Pool’s importance in the community. He added: “I just don’t understand how you can have something like this in the middle of a massive residential area, and they want to shut it.
“They say that kids can’t swim but the more pools you shut the less kids are going to be able to swim.”
Most people who frequent the pool live within what community member, Cathy Darlow called the “catchment area”.
Darlow said: “All three of us here, we can walk to this pool. A lot of the people that come here (including the schools) – they can walk.
“Whereas otherwise the best you could hope for would be to go to Hengrove, for which the buses aren’t very good from here.
“So people just don’t go.”
Heaton believes that Jubilee Pool is “more than just a pool” for the community.
This feeling is echoed by the many who have spoken about the pool fondly.
One community member who has shared their experience about swimming at the pool said: “I’m a carer for my husband. My swimming sessions are the only time I get to do something for myself on my own.”
Hatcher who was once diagnosed with cancer said the pool helped him “pull through” on the worst days.
From two-year-olds to people in their 70s – the pool welcomes everyone.
The 22-metre pool has a warm temperature that makes it ideal for swimming even on chilly winter days. Additionally, FoJB have also put together a 15-station gym where members can train after or before a swim.
Talking about the spirit of the pool, Darlow added: “You always come in here and there’s always a face that you recognize.
“And it’s that friendship, that local community, that positive vibe, that when you go into somewhere bigger you don’t get.
“You don’t get that same rapport, that friendliness – which is what this pool brings.”
Positioned between residential houses passers-by could easily miss spotting Jubilee Pool
All photos: Karen Johnson
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