This is not a criticism of Kingston-Upon-Hull, it's people, nor it's political administrators over the years since "the war" (1939-1945), but a celebration of respect for the past that is now coming to fruition after many years of public discussion. Hull has a penchant for preserving the facades of old buildings for incorporation into new ones, which I think is an honourable state of mind, respectful of the city's heritage; but this decision has taken some time, 83 years to be exact. 83!
This facade was created in 1941 when a German plane bombed a packed picture house, which left it in ruins that have been undisturbed since, though preservation is to begin soon. The Germans were pretty good at bombing Hull * - it was both the first and the last UK mainland city to be bombed and over 5 years 95% of Hull's housing stock was either totally destroyed, rendered uninhabitable or damaged in some way. This count does not include industrial, municipal or retail buildings. Hull got a good pasting!
* Available for £14.95 from the Carnegie Heritage Centre bookshop, at www.carnegiehull.co.uk/shop/store/
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| Hull's National Picture Theatre in the 30's and bombed-out below in 1941 |
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| View this video from 30:30 to hear it's story |
Hull is not a boastful city, it endured, it endures, it persists and seems to be flourishing again after half a century of decline; it is not "perfect", nor glamorous, but it is (mostly) a respectful city and proud of it's place in history. It was once the third largest port in the UK, with money and civic pride enough to construct many grand buildings, reduced to facades by German bombing. Thankfully successive councils have kept them to remind us of former glories.
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