Stokes Bay

Bathing Station and Tea Rooms

In 1922 the Government Unemployment Grants Committee of Gosport Council considered a scheme for concrete bathing huts and refreshment rooms at Stokes Bay and in 1923 the Finance and Parliamentary Committee authorised the borrowing of £1,750 to construct them. That same year one hundred and fifty deck chairs at 7s 6d each were purchased, fifty with canopies at 12s 2d each for hire at 2d or 3d (with a canopy) in the morning, afternoon or evening sessions. Twenty Four concrete seats were for the promenade were purchased at £2 1s 3d each. Mr Kite was approved as warden for the season at 50s per week plus 5% of all sums collected from deck chairs.

On 30th July 1923 the Council Minutes reported that the the Bathing Station would be opened from 4th August at a charge of 4d per person for use of a cubicle. Male and female attendants were to be employed. It was reported that by September 23rd. £1,600 of the allocated £1,750 had been spent on the Bathing Station.

In 1924 the construction of the new promenade was approved. Also this year eighteen tables and seventy two chairs were purchased for the restaurant/tea rooms at the Bathing Station. Tenders were invited annually for the operation of the two restaurants at the Bay. Mr Hodgson offered £60 for the one at the Bathing Station. One hundred and four bathing hut owners were to have their private huts repainted (at their expense) in order to keep the painters occupied!

In 1926 fifteen more bathing hut sites were allocated from the esplanade to the coastguard station. In 1927 it was decided to erect twelve more day huts at the Bay. In 1928 it was agreed that a waterproof clock would be erected in front of the bathing station at a cost of £25. Gas for the geyser, stove and lights at the Bathing Station leased to Mr Davis was approved. In 1929 another twelve day huts were approved due to increasing demand.

In 1930 the O.S.W. Committee agreed to erect twenty four extra day huts in front of Col. Sloane Stanley's land. Col. Sloane-Stanley objected to them ruining the view from his house and it was agreed to move six of them. The Colonel objected to the huts in full view of his lawn and literally a stone's throw away. The Committee minuted to ignore him! He invited councillors to view the twenty four day huts.

In 1940 the War Office required the removal of the twenty four huts. (Victory for Colonel Sloane-Stanley!)

In 1942 the Admiralty requisitioned the bathing station, tea house and lavatories adjacent ot No.2 Battery. A D-Day Command Centre was constructed at the west end of the bathing station (now the Stokes Bay Sailing Club H.Q.) They were de-requisitioned in March 1947 and the whole of the bay was re-opened to the public, with the exception of the west end which was still to be used by the Special Armament Development Establishment based at Fort Gomer.

The bathings station was demolished as part of the 1975 Stokes Bay Development Scheme and a new building, The current Pebble Beach Bistro and Cafe was erected to the west of the site. (note1)

Stokes Bay Bathing Station.	The Bathing Station circa 1939 prior to the construction of the D-Day Command Centre to the west.

Stokes Bay Miniature Pleasure Railway

 

The Stokes Bay miniature pleasure railway

 

The miniature pleasure railway was built along Stokes Bay, with the agreement of Gosport Council, in 1948 by George Vimpany who proposed that it should operate for three years. It was run under the name Southern Miniature Railways Ltd, (formed in 1948) which also had railways at Poole, Bognor Regis and Southsea. It was run on a shared profits basis with Mr. Vimpany supplying the rails and engines and the Council providing the land. the Council expenses were £50 to lay a water pipe from the Promenade cafe (where the Pebble Beach Cafe now stands) to the brick building at the rear of the Admiralty control building (both buildings are still there); also two labourers for two weeks to prepare the site for the railway tracks. The brick building was to be converted to a railway shed and station. The Council were to take 25% of the gross receipts in the first year; fares 6 pence per child, 1 shilling per adult.

 

The line ran out towards Fort Gilkicker, around the paddling pool and then inland and back towards the Teahouse in a loop. The line was taken up in 1950 and it has been reported elsewhere that this was due to complaints that it was unsightly and spoilt the view of the Bay. However the Council minutes tell another story. In 1949 Mr Vimpany wanted to run the railway again for another season but at the end of this year the Council noted that it ran at a loss and agreed to move it so as to develop the site and give it another year. In 1951 the Council minutes note that Southern Miniature Railways were to remove the the railway at Stokes Bay as it had run at a loss for three years, but hoped to return when Stokes Bay regained its popularity. Presumably the extensive development of the Bay, including the commencement of the filling of the moats, had put people off visiting.

 

Mr Vimpany probably took the engines back to Poole, where a railway was still running in 1999. Peter Keat, writing in 'Rails to the Yards', tells that Mr. Vimpany received a letter from the council informing him that the railway could be invited back at any time. However shortly after the railway was removed the Stokes Bay Sailing Club wanted to extend 150ft to the north now that the railway had gone. So that was the end of the railway's prospects of returning.
The line was 10.25-inch gauge.

 

The shortened route of the pleasure railway on a map of 1950. The D-Day Command Centre is to the west of the Bathing Station.

 

The railway in use 1949 (Gosport Society)	Mr Vimpany's workshop in 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stokes Bay Paddling Pool

 

The River Alver flowed along the length of Stokes Bay parallel to the beach and exited into the sea near Gilkicker Point after passing through the Stoke Morass.

In the early 1800s the Royal Engineers diverted the River Alver, via a culvert, into Stoke Lake so that the morass at the Gilkicker end of Stokes Bay could be drained. Parts of the morass remained forming two small pools of water. In later years one of these was used by the local children as a natural paddling pool. Gosport Council saw that it was popular and in the early 1930s provided a concrete path to the pool from the end of Anglesey Road. By 1939 the path was extended around the pool and on to the promenade. Today all that remains to show where the pool was are the concrete paths across the field leading nowhere.

 

The pool in 1890

 

By 1933 a path to the pool was provided from the end of Anglesey Road.

 

By 1939 the path had been extended to surround the pool with another leading on to the promenade

 

The path to the pool in 2008. Looking towards the promenade and the sea.	Looking towards Anglesey Road	The path that goes nowhere. The promenade end of the path.

 

The pool was filled by the council sometime between 1962 and 1969. (It is shown on one map but not on the other)

Acknowledgement: Once again, I am indebted to Gosport historian Philip Eley for providing me with valuable information after he painstakingly read through the Gosport Council minutes. This proved invaluable for connecting dates with events.