Sites of British History: The Revival, Creation, and Unmaking of a National Narrative

This dissertation is a study of public heritage in Great Britain, specifically engaging the intersection of commemoration practices and preservation campaigns, while also considering both heritage tourism and urban planning. Organized as a biography of place, this project explores how locations where significant events took place come to be viewed as heritage sites. The project is framed around case studies of six sites where notable events occurred. The story told in this dissertation begins during the Victorian period, a time that saw both the foundation of modern preservation and the democratization of tourism. Unique to the Victorian experience was its historical consciousness that resulted in two concurrent efforts of commemoration: one a revival of events from centuries past and another of contemporary events deemed historically significant. A third formulation also saw modern Britons systematically exclude places in an effort to erase unseemly aspects of its national narrative. This work shows how various actors in Britain—from the national government and regional councils to private organizations and interested individuals—engineered the British national memory.

Grantor dc:publisher

State University of New York at Buffalo

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Strittmatter, David

Contributors dc:contributor

• McDevitt, Patrick
• History

• European history
• history

Statement dc:rights

• Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.
• Copyright retained by author.

Language dc:language

eng

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78110

OAI record oai:identifier

https://ubir.buffalo.edu/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=qdc&identifier=oai%3Aubir.buffalo.edu%3A10477%2F78110