The summer of ’76!
REMEMBER EAST PARK’S LIDO THAT KEPT HULL LOCALS COOL?
WITH the news that Albert Avenue Baths is set to be reopened in 2023, complete with outdoor lido, we look back at another of Hull’s lost lidos.
East Park has been the centre stage for a lot of local history in its time, so much so that English Heritage gave it Grade II listed status.
From being one of the first Victorian parks in Hull to being the original placement of the citadel tower that was later moved near Victoria Dock, the park has seen it all.
Spanning an impressive 120 acres, East Park has always been a focal point for all communities. As well as being home to a lot of recreational activities like football and music, locals could also go for a swim right up until the late Eighties.
Beneath the animal houses in the park was once one of Hull’s most iconic hot spots during the summer months - a lido. On a hot day, there would be children running down Holderness Road toward the park with a towel rolled up under one arm and an ice lolly in the other.
During the Seventies, strikes and power cuts had dulled Hull’s community, times were hard and with little money to spend, the parks meant free fun and relaxation for thousands of people. East Park’s lido remained a firm favourite for locals from the day it opened.
The summer of 1976 was one of the hottest on record and the lido provided some much-needed relief for families. Groups of teenagers, families and trendy young couples would make their way down to the lido to cool down or get a tan.
However, the fun didn’t last forever. In 1979, rumours swirled that the East Park lido might close. This was declared hearsay and firmly denied by Councillor Harry Woodford, who was the Chairman of Hull Leisure Services Committee at the time.
The lido then withstood years of decline and, in 1988, it was demolished, filled in, and the animal houses were built above the ground. The lido isn’t the only feature that East Park has said goodbye to over the years either.
The park once housed a small serpentine lake that was filled in during the 1950s, and huge gates at the entrance opposite Telford Street that were replaced with a concrete gateway in 1964.
The Splash Boat is a part of East Park’s history that still remains although just barely. The historical water ride has been entertaining families in Hull for generations.
It’s one of just three remaining water rides of its kind in England and many have memories of going down the 22ft drop as a child.
The Splash Boat is currently closed for “the foreseeable future” due to an investigation into its derailment in 2021 after which ten people were brought to safety by the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.