Building record MAB20419 - TARLAIR SWIMMING POOL

Outdoor saltwater swimming pool and associated buildings, designed by John C.

Outdoor saltwater swimming pool and associated buildings, designed by John C. Miller 1930-31 (the Burgh Surveyor for Macduff), with some later minor alterations. Art Deco tidal swimming pool, boating pool and paddling pool surrounded by curved walkways, with associated tea pavilion at head of boating pool and changing rooms and kiosks to side. Concrete pools and buildings. It is one of only three known surviving seaside outdoor swimming pool complexes in Scotland, and certainly the one that best retains its original appearance. Although the buildings at Tarlair are relatively modest, the pool itself is impressive with the generous curved sides of the boating pool, and swimming pool beyond. The inclusion of a boating pool is particularly unusual, the only other known example having been at Dunbar. It also seems to have been relatively unusual for a pool of this scale and level of stylishness to have been tidal. At high tide all parts of the pool are engulfed by the sea. The arrangement of the swimming pool situated to the sea side of the boating pool is practical, as it is obviously more hygienically desirable for the swimming pool to be fully replenished by the sea than the boating pool. Tarlair pool is set in a spectacular location in a rocky bay to the East of Macduff, to which the design of the pool responds well. The pool has been disused since 1995 and is consequently not in a good state of repair, although it has received some maintenance. A small number of alterations and additions have taken place since it was built (most notably to the paddling pool, and the addition to the tea pavilion), but these alterations are of a superficial nature and its appearance has changed very little since it was photographed in 1935. Its state of intactness, simple yet stylish design, early date and magnificent location all contribute to make this pool the outstanding surviving example of its type in Scotland (2006).

Period Notes
Designed by John C. Miller 1930-31. Opened 1931. Closed circa 1995. Listed 06/02/2007.

ADDISON CONSERVATION AND DESIGN, 2013, TARLAIR SWIMMING POOL: A CONSERVATION PLAN, Conservation Plan (Bibliographic reference). SAB5490.

GRAY, R, 2023, MODULE BC6 CONSERVATION OF 20TH CENTURY BUILDINGS - TARLAIR SWIMMING POOL, MACDUFF, ABERDEENSHIRE., Conservation Report (Bibliographic reference). SAB4313.

Jun 11 2016 , AAS/GR/16/06/224-231, AAS/GR/16/06/224-231 (Ground Photograph). SAB33952.

Record last edited

Aug 15 2025 10:41AM