Century-old Reading Arthur Hill Memorial Baths closes

Arthur Hill Memorial Baths opened on 29 November 1911

A 104-year-old swimming pool has closed after a council said it could no longer afford to repair the building.

Reading Borough Council had said it would need to spend £700,000 to bring the Arthur Hill Memorial Baths up to standard.

The authority said it would sell the building to help pay for a new facility in the area in about four years.

However, campaigners have now set up a community interest group in a bid to reopen the pool.

Phil Vaughan, who has been a regular at the baths for 15 years, said he hoped the group would attract grants to fund a reopening.

He said the council had agreed not to drain the pool for a few months.

"We pay taxes, we are entitled to some community benefits," he added.

This photograph shows Reading's water-polo club at the baths in about 1930

Alan Hardie, secretary of Reading Dolphin Swimming Club, which used the baths, said: "It's very sad we will all be separating and won't be meeting here on Sunday mornings as we have done for many, many years.

Dolphin member Margery Taylor, who has rheumatoid arthritis and has been using the baths for 20 years, said: "It's quite a social life for people who can't get about so easily - we don't want fancy wave machines, we just want a pool we can swim up and down."

The original 90ft (27m) pool - which six individual hot baths for people who did not have them at home - was opened on 29 November 1911.

During World War One the council agreed to let soldiers quartered in Reading use the baths free of charge.

The building was donated to the town by the Hill family, in memory of Arthur Hill JP who was mayor of Reading four times between 1883 and 1887.

Reading Borough Council said it would need to spend £700,000 to bring the building up to standard