Swimming at Hatch Hole

In Canford's early years, long before Canfordian's had the luxury of a purpose built swimming pool for swimming lessons and recreation, pupils used the area just within the bursars arch entrance to swim. This was the venue of Canford's first inter-house swimming competition in 1924. Additions were made to Hatch Hole over the years to make it a more suitable environment for swimming in, such as the addition of a  diving board of questionable safety…

In 1955, a brand new purpose-built outdoor swimming pool opened after a few years of vigorous fund-raising for the project. Once Canford invested in a swimming pool, Hatch Hole was no longer used in an official capacity for swimming, but continued to be used for other activities for many years. The 1998 Canfordian reported that pupils used Hatch Hole for canoeing practice as it provided a safe and easy environment for beginners during the spring and summer months, and somewhere that more experienced paddlers could use during the winter when flooding and high water levels created excellent white water conditions.