There were several Victorian swimming pools in seaside towns which used sea water in their pools and these were usually sited near the beach. But the Scarbrough Avenue baths in Skegness were a considerable distance away.

Their two pools benefitted from the site of the baths building being at a naturally low level. This allowed them to be supplied with water directly from the sea, partly by gravity and partly by pumping, a powerful steam pump being provided for the purpose.

The water had to pass through a lengthy pipe to reach the baths. Though the building itself was damaged during World War II and demolished in the 1950s, some at least of the pipework still remains.

The three upper images, taken when the tide was out, clearly show the water inlet pipe.

The image on the left was taken from the sea looking at the remains of the pier leading to the promenade. Scarbrough Avenue is directly in line with the end of the pier, so the pipe would have been fairly straight along its length.

The danger sign, which would show the inlet's location when the tide was in, was probably also the spindle of a gate valve to open and close the water flow. At the baths end of the pipe there would have been a series of graduated filters to ensure that only water entered the pool.

All photographs © Skegness Magazine, skegnessvideo.com