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About Cliftonville Lido
I visited Margate on a cold Monday in November. Margate was closed. It made no difference to the Lido beacon, it stood as indifferent to me as it has been to the passage of time for nearly a century.
Carved directly into the coastal chalk cliffs of Thanet, the site originated as a 19th-century bathing complex before being transformed in the 1920s by the remarkable John Henry Iles, the visionary behind the nearby Dreamland cinema on Margate seafront. Iles turned the cliff-side venue into a sprawling Seaside Moderne wonderland, complete with a massive outdoor pool, sunbathing terraces, subterranean bars, and an amphitheatre capable of hosting thousands of holidaymakers at the peak of the British seaside boom.
Though winter storms and changing holiday habits eventually forced the pool’s closure in the late 1970s, leaving much of the subterranean complex to crumble against the waves, the iconic beacon tower on Ethelbert Terrace has been maintained and is still a notable landmark.
Name: Cliftonville Lido
Developer: John Henry Iles
Opened: 1926 (redeveloped from 1830s chalk baths)
Style: Seaside Moderne, Art Deco
All prints are presented on Hahnemühle German etching Giclée paper. Frames are solid wood from sustainable sources, manufactured to high standards.
Sizes available:
A4 - 21×30cm, 8×12"
A3 - 30×42cm, 12×17"
A2 - 42×59cm, 17×23"
A1 - 59×84cm, 23×33"