My paper depicts the story of Tyneham village in Dorset, UK, whose population was displaced to other areas nearby before WWII, as the site was selected to become an active tank shooting ground by the UK Ministry of Defence. Intended as a temporary relocation of the residents, in reality they were never allowed to return to their village and nowadays village settlement’ ruins, a school and a church stand amidst the tank training ground as a memorial of their residents. Being popular as ‘the village who died for England’, Tyneham remains an attractive spot for visitors from all over England during the weekends and summer holidays when the site is open for public access.

I was fascinated with this story and decided to research the history of village, the perspective of the military as its present guardian and the views of the permanent flow of visitors in the weekends. The aim was to highlight some hidden narratives different from the commonly presented story about the displaced residents.

Observing the site use and management at present and collecting some materials from Dorchester archives, my main argument is built around the idea that heritage contested sites such as Tyneham should be managed as a living memorial, where visitors’ imaginations are left to flourish and the story of Tyneham is constantly being reinvented according to visitors’ individual perception, life stage and wider cross-cultural socio-political context.

Bringing some insights from Greek theatre and Japanese Noh theatre, I argue that a state of incompleteness and decay of the living memorial can be a vital ingredient to re-enact the story of the depopulated village in multiple perspectives. Seen in the context of similar sites in Europe and beyond, visitors could share with others a sense of universal suffering caused by wars.

Understanding the role of the tank shooting ground officers who appreciate Tyneham’s historic legacy and are preserving and taking care of the site and finding different ways of keeping it safe and open for visitors might bring an alternative understanding of the village whose memory ‘lives’ for England. In this sense the site is a strong living memorial to be revisited and remembered.

Understanding a wider literary context of the site in the works of writers such as Hardy, Orwel and Carson, visitors might reflect on 20th century key issues of modernization and preservation and the role of the voluntary associations who enabled public access to the site for 137 days per year.

Finally understanding the remains of multiple previous inhabitants and individuals before and beyond Tyneham village, who left traces of their lifestyle and culture might bring a wider perspective of this site as a living memorial of pre-historic, Roman and medieval cultural heritage.

The heritage of Tyneham as a living memorial: between complex historical narratives and suggestive performing traditions by Milena Metalkova-Markova (University of Portsmouth, UK) is published in Architecture_MPS, volume 29.

Milena Metalkova-Markova is a Bulgarian architect who specialized in heritage preservation and citizen participation in Japan (PhD from Kyoto Institute of Technology). Her research there was focused on heritage-led urban and architectural regeneration. She has taught architectural anthropology, history of modern architecture and architectural design within historic contexts in Japan, Bulgaria and the UK. She has been awarded several times for her work with students in conservation and urban design – Japan Tohoku International Competition 2nd Award, Japanese Ambassador Award-2018, Historic England angel Award-2019. She is interested in the links between art, architecture and heritage conservation and since August 2019 works as an associate professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Portsmouth, teaching Conservation Practice at Portsmouth School of Architecture MArch Building and Heritage Conservation. She has been involved in the design of spatial installations as a catalyser for heritage revitalization, exhibiting alone or with students in art galleries and historic buildings in Japan, Bulgaria and the UK.

AMPS heritage site performative tradition socio-cultural values creative methodology