History of the Jane Holloway Swimming Pool

I study at Royal Holloway, a university probably most well known for the iconic Founder’s Building. According to Wikipedia, it is an example of French-Renaissance style architecture. Founder’s is often used in TV and film as visual shorthand for a grandiose university or school setting, starring in Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Crown, You, and most importantly, Midsomer Murders ¹.

On the wooded slopes below Founder’s is the grade two listed Jane Holloway Hall, which was formerly an indoor heated swimming pool. It was built in 1893, so about a decade after Founder’s was constructed. This completion date would make it one of the earlier examples in the UK. It is not nearly as visually impressive as Founder’s, but it suits the wooded environment well. Unfortunately, they decided to pebble dash it, which I think is a bad call on any building. Fortunately, the interior has the brickwork exposed, and is notable for its “elegant pinjointed steel roof trusses” ².

I’ve been curious about this building since I started studying here. There isn’t much about it online. On campus there are rumours that a student once drowned in the pool, and since haunts the corridors of Founder’s. Randomly I found a 13-year-old thread on Student Room, with this picture attached, which piqued my interest.

This curiosity lingered on for a couple of years until I started swimming regularly. These days students have to make the 30-minute walk to Egham Orbit on the other side of the M25. Out of laziness, I wanted to find out why the university got rid of the more conveniently located campus swimming pool.

I figured the best place to find this out would be the university archives. From the Student Room thread, I knew that the pool was removed at some point in the 1980s. A brief search of the online archive catalogue returned some results that seemed like they might be relevant.

Here I have to thank the Archivist, who very helpfully identified magazines and other articles that referenced Jane Holloway Hall. As the documents are yet to be digitized, I had to book a visit to the archive reading room. This was the first time I have ever used an archive — I’d strongly recommend the experience. It’s quite weird seeing the world from a perspective 40 years in the past.

Pretty soon I found my answer in the very 1980s Fortnight university “News Bulletin” ³. I’ll include the text of the article here verbatim:

Ignominious end for Victorian swimming pool?

The indoor Victorian swimming pool at Royal Holloway is to remain unrepaired for the forseeable future. In 1981 it sustained considerable damage when a tree fell onto the roof of the building during a storm. Last January it was recommended by the Joint Standing Committee that the cost of repairing and modernizing the pool and the building, over £250,000, was too great to be considered at the present time. Even to have brought the pool up to working order for summer-time use only would have cost £100,000.

The swimming pool, which is situtated to the south of the Founders building, requires considerable outside renovation, as well as reflooring and the renewal of electrical equipment. It was considered that as far as the funds available to be spent on sports facilities were concerned, the swimming pool could not be regarded as a priority. Hence the matter has been laid to rest for the time being.

The swimming pool was built in 1893 and cost a ‘mere’ £1,995 9s 2d. Originally the water used in the pool was taken from the boating pond, which lies further up the slope towards Founders, and was heated as it passed through the swimming pool boiler. The boating pond is fed by constant underground springs, which can refill it within 36 hours. The water which went into the pool was alleged to be always ‘clean and fresh’ and the supply was sufficient for the pool to be refilled twice each week (on Thursdays and Saturdays). Since the water was fresh no maintenance work was required.

In 1935 the College authorities commissioned a study to be carried out on the possible modernization of the swimming pool, and consequently the following year a complete overhaul was done and filtration plants were fitted. The College authorities were worried that chlorinated water would have an adverse effect on cattle which drank from another pond lower down the slope where the used water was deposited!

The pool had originally been heated from a pipe off the main College heating system. Since it took 4 hours to clean the pool and 12 to 14 hours to refill, it was very expensive to maintain the heating supply.

Indeed it had such a prejudicial effect on the central system that a coke filled boiler was installed. By 1949 16 tons of coke in total were used each year to run the boiler, and the cost of maintaining the pool came to £13 10d each week.

The swimming pool remained in full use until 1981 when it was so badly damaged. Few students now remain at the College who have swum in the pool, and because the cost for repair will probably keep increasing it seems unlikely that the pool will ever be reopened for use. Since the state of the building is deteriorating and becoming dangerous, it might soon become expedient to demolish it. It is sad that such an historic building of the last century might come to such an ignominious end.

GORDON BORELAND

(Archive Research by Mr P J F Scott, Deputy Secretary)

TL;DR: a tree fell on the building in 1981. The required repairs and modernization would have cost £250,000 in 1983 (about £750,000 today). This seems to me to be a very reasonable sum to pay for repairs to a swimming pool ⁴. Presumably the university must have been under some considerable financial strain at the time. This article was comprehensive, providing a full history of the building, and I am grateful to Gordon Boreland and Mr P J F Scott for writing it.

After 1984 the basement of the building was used as the rock store for the Geology department. This continued until 1992, when it was realized that the damp conditions were causing “academically valuable” rock specimens to deteriorate ⁵. By the centenary of the building, in 1993, it had finally been converted into a “multi-purpose flat-floored” hall ². It was then used for lecturing and music rehearsals, with a seated capacity of 150.

More recently in 2018, the building was once again modernized — this time to become a space for group exercise, supplementing the relatively small on-campus gym ⁶. The interior today is remarkably consistent with pictures from 1906, having retained the exposed brickwork and steel roof trusses, with the caveat that it is now sans swimming pool. The grade two listing should prevent any alterations that would significantly alter its character in the future.

It would be quite amusing if it were to be converted back into a swimming pool one day. I’d be interested if anyone has more pictures of the building in use as a pool — I’m sure there must be some between 1906 and when it was damaged in 1981.