Introduction to the Special Issue on Material Cultures of Reconstruction in post-war London

Abstract

This introduction to the special issue on material cultures of reconstruction in post-war London highlights the key contributions of the articles included. Together the papers contribute to an everyday history of post-war reconstruction in London. This introduction also highlights the broader relevance of these contributions to the study of urban reconstruction by drawing attention to the importance of material culture in the reshaping of urban life after crisis.

KEYWORDS:

• Material Culture
• Post-War London
• Reconstruction
• The Blitz
• Reconstructing the everyday
• Reconstruction and social practice
• Post crisis cities

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all of the contributors to this special issue for the discussions and intellectual generosity which have made this project so enjoyable. These thanks should also be extended to all of those who took part in the original Symposium held at London South Bank University in May 2018. The peer reviewers as well as the editorial board of the London Journal have been invaluable in getting these papers and the special issue ready for publication.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 D. Yeatman. ‘Worst Death Toll Than The Blitz’, Metro Newspaper (April 29, 2020).

2 Work published by the University of Reading researchers as part of their ‘Viral Discourse’ project has suggested that there is a particular prevalence of war language surrounding the media reporting of the pandemic in the United Kingdom. S. Jaworska, ‘Is the war rhetoric around Covid-19 an Anglo-American thing?’ Viral Discourse (April 13, 2020) <https://viraldiscourse.com/2020/04/13/is-the-war-rhetoric-around-covid-19-an-anglo-american-thing/>

3 Amy Bell has made this point, stating: ‘Concerns over wartime morale and productivity were superimposed onto older nineteenth-century desires to control the dangerous and potentially weakening elements in the metropolis.’ A. Bell, ‘Landscapes of Fear: Wartime London, 1939–1945’, The Journal of British Studies, 48:1 (2009), 153–175.

4 R. Slatter, ‘Materialities and Historical Geographies: An Introduction’, Area, 51 (2019).

5 P. Hubbard, L. Faire, and K. Lilley, ‘Contesting the Modern City: Reconstruction and Everyday Life in Post-War Coventry’, Planning Perspectives, 18:4 (2003), 377–397; D. Adams, ‘Everyday Experiences of the Modern City: Remembering the Post-War Reconstruction of Birmingham’, Planning Perspectives, 26:2 (2011), 237–260.

6 There is some excellent literature on the built reconstruction of post Second World War London and beyond for instance: M. Clapson and P. Larkham, eds., The Blitz and its Legacy: Wartime Destruction to Post-War Reconstruction (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013); D. Adams and Peter Larkham, The Everyday Experiences of Reconstruction and Regeneration: From Vision to Reality in Birmingham and Coventry (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019).

7 Notably Abercrombie wrote about Wren’s plan in 1923. P. Abercrombie, ‘Wren's Plan for London after the Great Fire: Illustrated.’ Town Planning Review, 10:2 (1923), 71.

8 P. Abercrombie, Greater London Plan (HM Stationery Office, 1944). And E.J. Carter, E. Goldfinger, J.H. Forshaw, and P. Abercrombie, The County of London Plan (Penguin Books, 1945).

9 E.g. P. Hall. ‘Bringing Abercrombie Back from the Shades: A Look Forward and Back’, Town Planning Review, 66:3 (1995), 227; P.J. Larkham, M. Amati, and R. Freestone, ‘All of London's a Stage: The 1943 County of London Plan Exhibition’, Urban History, 43:4 (2016), 539–56.

10 B. Highmore, Ordinary Lives (Oxford: Routledge, 2011), 21.

11 R.L. West, ‘“I Am Convinced I Shall Achieve Something Valuable If I Can Brighten the Lives of the People Here”: Bombsites, Housing and Art in Lambeth’, The London Journal, 46:1 (2021). DOI: 10.1080/03058034.2019.1706952

12 R.L. West, ‘I am Convinced I Shall Achieve Something Valuable … ’, 18.

13 S. Reimer and P. Pinch, ‘Refurnishing Homes in a Bombed City: Moral Geographies of the Utility Furniture Scheme in London’, The London Journal, 46:1 (2021). DOI: 10.1080/03058034.2020.1753350

14 B. Bide, ‘The Fashion City and the Suburb: How Bentalls of Kingston Upon Thames Helped Rebuild Cultures of Fashionable Consumption in London after the Second World War’, The London Journal, 46:1 (2021). DOI: 10.1080/03058034.2020.1772446

15 A. Cartwright, ‘The Un-ideal Home: Fire Safety, Visual Culture and the LCC (1958-63)’, In The London Journal, 46:1 (2021). DOI: 10.1080/03058034.2020.1845496

16 S. Johnson-Schlee, ‘Building Site Ontologies: post-war London in the Paintings of Auerbach and Kossoff’, The London Journal, 46:1 (2021). DOI: 10.1080/03058034.2020.1832364

17 B. Johnson, PM Economy Speech (Dudley, 2020, June 30). https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-economy-speech-30-june-2020

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sam Johnson-Schlee

Sam Johnson-Schlee is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and Planning at London South Bank University.