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| Bentley Lido about 1934 |
Bentley Lido Skating Rink
Bentley in the 1930's had many places you could go to for fun and leisure. There was the Coliseum - or 'Colla' - cinema on High Street, the pavilion for dancing, Bentley Park for relaxation, as well as various sports grounds and clubs, but for those wanting something a little racier what could be better than strapping four wheels to each foot and risking life and limb on the maple floor of the Lido roller-skating rink?
Here we take a retrospective look at one of Bentley's well remembered little gems of entertainment.
Contents
- The Lido
- Location and Owners
- Thrills Aplenty at the Lido
- Competitions
- Lux Flakes and Sawdust
- Entertainment
- 'The Wonder Siffler'
- The Lido Underwater
- Ice Cream Factory
The Lido
Look up the word 'Lido' in any dictionary and you will find that the word usually means an outdoor swimming centre. I could not find one single reference to the word being used in the context of a name for a skating rink. So, while I cannot explain why Bentley's skating rink was named The Lido, the Lido it was, and as it was actually destroyed by flood water the name does seem rather apt in that respect.
Location and Owners
The Lido was situated on Hunt Lane, off Bentley Road, close to Town End. The huge building took up most of the west side of this residential street and boasted being the largest skating rink in the country. It was owned by the Messer family who also had interests in the car auction business. Along with their partners, Messer and Fuller had premises on Yarborough Terrace, which later became Bentley Ambulance Station. Car auctions were held round the corner on Cromwell Road every Thursday night.
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| Map of 1938 showing the location of Bentley Lido (ringed in red) |
Records don't tell us when the Lido first opened its doors but there are some clues. It does not appear on the 1930 map, but we do know that the rink was badly damaged by the floods of 1932, so it must have opened very early in the 1930's.
It was due to flooding that the Lido had only a short life in Bentley, but it was not underused and a lot was packed into its brief existence.
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| The Lido listed in the telephone directory of 1938 |
Thrills Aplenty at the Lido
The Lido operated every Monday to Sunday and was run by a manager, one of which was a Mr Lloyd-Worth, who along with his wife gave roller-skating lessons and performed roller dance demonstrations.
Teenage boys, known as 'skate boys' were paid five shillings a week to clip and lock the skates over people's shoes every evening.
Competitions
Speed skating competitions took place at the rink as well as a dangerous sounding challenge in which roller skaters would race motorcycles known as track-bikes.
A national push-ball contest saw five-a-side skating teams aim to push a seven foot high ball into their opponents' goal.
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| This roller-skating team won every game in the league in the 1930's. |
Lux Flakes and Sawdust
On Thursday nights skating stopped at 10pm and the maple floor was prepared for the roller-skating dancers. Lux soap flakes were scattered on the surface to make it extra slippery.
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| Lux soap flakes (Pinterest) |
The following morning wet sawdust was spread on to the surface for the novices and sports skaters.
Entertainment
Apart from roller-skating, a variety of other entertainments were put on at the Lido. It became a venue for wrestling matches and dance competitions. A dance troupe called The Marvets was formed for girls aged twelve to fourteen and were taught by Miss Wood. The Marvets provided entertainment from time to time.
'The Wonder Siffler'
Entertainers put on acts every Saturday night between the skating; musicians, jugglers and local acts such as Frank Grayson, known for his whistling skills, and who at the age of fourteen was billed as 'The Wonder Siffler' for whistling 'In a Monastery Garden' and other tunes. Frank was educated at St Joseph's Catholic School in Woodlands.
The Lido Underwater
The Lido can only have been operating a couple of years before the 'worst floods in living memory' hit Bentley in May 1932. More than 1,500 people were flooded out of their homes and water depths reached ten feet in places. Hunt Lane's proximity to the river Don put it directly in the path of the flood waters, which at times were described as raging torrents.
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| Raging torrents of water flood down Hunt Lane in 1932 |
Bentley was to suffer two more major floods over the next 15 years, one in 1941, and one in 1947. In the photo below, the Lido can just be seen on the left (with the big sign outside), standing in deep flood waters which ruined the floors and eventually led to its closure.
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| Flooded Hunt Lane |
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| Another view of Hunt Lane in the flood, probably taken from the railway bridge. The Lido can be seen on the left side of the street just beyond the big square sign. |
Ice Cream Factory
The building was taken over by Massarellas and used as an ice cream factory throughout the 1950's and possibly 1960's.
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| Masserellas ice cream factory. Photo courtesy of Dave Shay |
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| Workers from the ice cream factory in 1950. Photo courtesy of Colin Hardisty |
Later the premises became a warehouse for electrical goods, and is now Bullseye, a distribution centre for tools.
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The days of the Lido may be long gone, but memories linger of a time when skating was a game of speed and daring for some, but was often more of a shuffle for others. However, this was a place of great fun and excitement for the young people of Bentley, even if it was short lived.
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Source material for this article was taken from a Doncaster Courier newspaper article of 17th February 1998 by Grace Paterson.
My thanks to Mick Dutchak.
Alison Vainlo 2021
