Paper short abstract:

The ruin of the National Picture Theatre, Hull has stood untouched since being bombed in 1941. This paper examines the debates over its future to question the role of material representation of the past in invoking and creating narratives of the Blitz and its aftermath.

Paper long abstract:

On the night of the 17th of March 1941 the National Picture Theatre in Hull was bombed and largely destroyed, leaving only the grand façade standing. Sixty nine years later it remains an untouched, boarded-up ruin - the last 'Blitzed' building of its type in Britain not to have been demolished, restored or preserved as a memorial. Despite its listed status, the last three years have seen a continuing debate over the redevelopment of the ruins between those wishing to convert them to commercial use and voices calling for the preservation of the ruins as a memorial and educational site. This paper examines the ongoing battle between these competing interests and, in particular, asks questions about the role of material remains in memorialising events. It compares opposing claims of what is 'appropriate' use of the ruins and examines how the rival groups have sought to legitimise their own agendas through the motivation of narratives of both the conflict and the intervening years. In contesting the memorialisation of the Blitz, both groups have sought to map concepts of progress versus heritage, the local versus the national, remembrance, and heroism onto the landscape, whilst also advancing differing declamatory strategies for creating a suitable memorial. The paper seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the process of creating memorials, whilst also seeking to question the importance of the material form of ruins themselves in this process. It also examines how narratives of the past are organized spatially at historical sites and memorial spaces.