The Society is devastated to learn that Halifax Pool and its glorious tiled murals by artist Kenneth Barden have been demolished, six years after closing to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Calderdale Council later declared the building ‘beyond economic repair’ and opted to construct a new £35 million leisure centre nearby, committing only to a photographic record of the murals.

The Society submitted a listing application for the threatened pool and murals in 2020, which was disappointingly turned down by DCMS and Historic England, the report stating dismissively:

“While the exuberant, aquatically-themed tile mosaics enliven the pool hall interior, their interest is not sufficient to recommend listing in their own right and their presence does not merit the listing of a building which does not otherwise meet the criteria for listing.”

We believed the reasoning for this decision to be inadequate and unconvincing, particularly given then legislation allowsfor murals to be listed independently of the building upon which they are sited (Ref. Paragraph 5A, Listed Buildings Act 1990). However, our request for a formal review of the decision was also rejected.

The Society included the site on its 2021 Risk List and has since worked with other organisations, individuals and Councillers in lobbying Calderdale Council to safely remove and relocate the murals to the new facility, but to no avail. All were demolished between June – Sept 2026.

Designed by F H Hoyles, the Deputy Borough Architect, under the supervision of the Borough Architect J L Berbiers, and constructed in 1965-66, Halifax Pool was an admirable effort to translate local distinctiveness into the optimistic modern design of the age, creating a building that wouldn’t overwhelm the historic character of its mostly Victorian surroundings.

It struck an interesting balance between modern and contextual design. It had clean lines and cubic forms, and the way that the internal spaces were grouped and expressed externally, neatly stepping down the sloping site, worked  with the variety of facade textures in local materials to add interest to the elevations. These design features created a well composed and thoughtful building that otherwise may have been a mismatched or bulky addition to the area’s predominantly historic grain.

The interior of the swimming pool featured two ceramic murals by artist Kenneth Barden (1924-1988), depicting British pond life. The murals were a collage of different plants and insects, layered in a geometric motif with vibrant blues, reds, purples and greens. The aquatic theme ties in with the building’s function and created a lively backdrop to the diving pool.

Barden is mentioned in Historic England’s Introduction to Heritage Assets document focusing on Post-War Public Art. He designed a number of ceramic murals in the post-war period, with other notable examples being the massive Carter tile facade panels for the Harbour and Seaward residential towers in Gosport (1961-68), and an interior mural depicting historic pump mechanisms at a Pump House in Sawbridgeworth for the Hertfordshire and Essex Water Board (1955).