Town Planning, Architectural Conservation, and Civic Identity in Portsmouth, 1939-1974

The research that led to this thesis sought to understand how civic identity, and particularly historic civic identity, was imprinted on Portsmouth’s built landscape after the heavy architectural losses of the Second World War. Three thematic concepts, emerging from the initial reading, form the core of the dissertation: post-war planning and reconstruction, the emergence of architectural conservationism in the mid-twentieth century, and the concept of civic identity. During the 1940s, Portsmouth’s Local Authority saw radical scientific town planning as a means of physically and financially restoring the city. Locally-specific conditions and priorities prevented this dream from being immediately realized, and the delay allowed for concerns about the historic architectural landscape to come to the fore. The city that was rebuilt looked little like the one projected in 1946, when F. A. C. Maunder’s plan was first made public. Instead, the Portsmouth that emerged was shaped by the multiple interests and concerns of different groups within the city. Portsmouth’s post-war reconstruction has been written about as though it was a failed attempt, but this conclusion requires writing from the position that there was a particular way that reconstruction during this period should have looked. This thesis strives to analyse Portsmouth’s post-war re-planning and building in a new light, as instead reflecting a positive combination of circumstances, local attitudes, and deliberate choices. It takes into account official Ministry and Local Authority records, but, where possible, looks beyond these to try to also access the citizen experience and determine how this was able to impact official decisions. This approach, studying these themes through the example of a single civic unit over a longer time period (1939 to 1974), seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities facing English cities struggling to get back on their feet after the war.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Ward, Brigid

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mandler, Peter

• post-war reconstruction
• town planning
• conservation
• Portsmouth
• civic identity

Licence

• https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/77df9533-3b20-4512-8593-dac7a637f787/download
• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.64660

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/317547