IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section A

Abstract

Decommissioned penal buildings are on the rise, leaving city planners and communities entrenched in debate concerning their reuse or removal. Encouraged by sustainable development initiatives, penal heritage buildings have become a nascent form of heritage hotels. Such activities are further endorsed by the fact that penal heritage is now a cultural commodity owing to public interest, which, grounded in the celebritization of criminal justice observed in both popular media and merchandising, has necessitated the proliferation of prison tourism. However, existing discourse remains conflicted over the use of penal heritage for tourist experiences. Addressing these developments, this presentation is twofold. It first outlines the rise and popularity of ‘penal heritage hotels’, and drawing on cases from the UK, Australia and Denmark, discusses how penal heritage is used and managed through adaptive reuse. This, in turn, allows for a subsequent discussion how penal heritage hotels have the potential to engage guests, and the wider public, in meaningful discussions about criminal justice and penal heritage legacies. In doing so, this presentation concludes with the argument that penal heritage hotels have the potential to serve as ‘sites of conscience’.