Built in 1914, the swimming baths were in a meadow near the Chess and were greatly enjoyed by the residents of Chenies. The water was drawn from the river, although it eventually had to be closed as it was thought that the water was not sufficiently clean.
“Living by the river, I learned to swim at a young age so the use of the swimming Pool was my favourite pastime. The pool was an antiquated corrugated iron building set on the river bank by Chenies Mill, it had twelve changing rooms each with a wooden seat and a door that neither reached top or bottom. Fed from the river it was always murky, it came in through pipes and was emptied the same way. We always knew where the bottom was when going in off the boards at the deep end which was only 6 feet deep anyway. The pool was demolished at the time of the second world war probably to help the war effort.” Betty Healing
Betty notes that on the end (at the Manor) was a cottage where the Church caretaker lived, and it was he that took charge of the swimming pool.
Not all residents felt the same way. Barbara Ruston remembers visiting the pool when she was nine years old, and that:
‘she only came once and that was enough, the water was greenish black, quite opaque and cold beyond belief’!
This aerial image taken in 1949 from Historic England shows the pool to the right of the river Chess. More images of Chenies can be viewed on their website.