Public backing urged for plans to preserve bomb-hit cinema

A GROUP behind plans to preserve one of Hull’s most historically important buildings has urged the public to show their backing for the project as it enters a critical phase.

The National Civilian Second World War Memorial Trust has submitted a planning application to protect and restore the National Picture Theatre and Swan Inn public house in Beverley Road.

The theatre – believed to be the only remaining bomb-damaged civilian building still standing in England – has lain virtually untouched since it was attacked by the Luftwaffe at about 10pm on March 17, 1941, while the adjoining hostelry, which is about 111 years old, is the last surviving bow-fronted public house in East Yorkshire.

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But while the trust is working to preserve the cinema as a memorial to the 1,200 civilians in Hull who died as a result of Nazi air raids, and to the members of the emergency services who worked during the Blitz, the building’s owners are also seeking planning permission to transform the site into a restaurant and flats.

Both applications will go before councillors in September.

The trust is calling on residents who support the memorial project to write to Hull Council’s planning committee to show their support, and is seeking donations towards the £230,000 estimated cost of buying the site.

Trust secretary Alan Canvess said it might be the last chance to save the building, and he said he hoped the fact that this year marked the 70th anniversary of the Hull Blitz, when the city suffered its most devastating bombing raids, would stir people into action.

Mr Canvess said: “If people want this to go ahead we need their support. If they are willing to just write into the council and say they think it’s a good idea it will help us to get the application passed.

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“We are also stepping up our efforts to raise the funds. If every adult in Hull put a couple of quid in we would be able to buy it. We would be grateful for small amounts or large amounts.”

Mr Canvess, who has given up his chairmanship of the Hull and East Yorkshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale to focus on the project, added: “I’ve given up my position as chairman because I feel if we don’t achieve momentum this year we will never do it, it’s a simple as that.

“We’ve got the impetus of the 70th anniversary and hopefully that will be in people’s minds.”

The trust has so far raised about £5,000 but has already spent about £1,250 on the planning application. Among the donations was £100 from the Hull-based screen and stage writer Alan Plater, just days before his death last June aged 75.

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Under the plans the theatre’s handsome brick frontage would be conserved, as would the empty shell and plaques with the names of the dead would be hung on the walls.

The Swan Inn would be converted back to its wartime layout and would house a micro-brewery. The plans, which also include a stand-alone education building, would cost a minimum of £750,000.

The theatre was given a Grade II listing in 2007. It has been described as of “iconic importance” and “one of the most powerful reminders of one of the most formative periods of the 20th century”.

The building was attacked while it was showing Charlie Chaplin’s satire The Great Dictator.

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Unable to get to shelters because of the severity of the raid, 150 people crammed into the foyer, but remarkably all survived when an airborne mine landed at the rear of premises, destroying the screen and gutting the building.

Although it was not acknowledged at the time, Hull was the most heavily bombed British city outside London, with 94 per cent of its entire housing stock damaged. It was fleetingly referred to as “a north-east town” in contemporary news reports of the raids.

To make donations or find out more call Alan Canvess on (01482) 446320.