Digging Out of the Bathing Lake

Tooting Bathing Lake, as the pool was originally known, was built in about four months between March and July 1906. It was a work scheme for unemployed men, with about 400 in total participating in the project. They were paid 25 shillings a week. The total cost was around £8000, with Wandsworth Borough Council and the Central Unemployed Body for London jointly picking up the bill. London County Council owned the site and was therefore responsible for the maintenance of the pool. This image is in the Wandsworth Heritage Service collection.