Relics of War: Damaged Structures and Their Replacement or Management in Modern Landscapes

Abstract

All wars, large and small scale, have had impacts on the built environments enmeshed in the conflict. This is almost always an adverse reaction, often involving destruction, but can also include the construction of defensive or other features. Damaged sites can be redeveloped relatively quickly, though some can persist for decades and some evidence of damage may be deliberately retained for a range of reasons. Damaged structures may remain for decades or centuries, especially if built on a large scale, and, if surviving, may undergo re-evaluation and retention as heritage features. This paper explores the fate of a range of relict features from the Second World War, surviving into modern urban and rural landscapes through inaction or deliberate action. Using a wide range of examples particularly from the UK but also drawing on others from elsewhere in Europe, we explore the impact of conflict on such relics; their nature and scale, processes of decision-making affecting their treatment over the last seven decades, and their landscape impact. The physical legacy of this war still affects many communities. Changing values so long after the conflict, and the decay of unmaintained structures, gives an urgency to reviewing the future of surviving relics.