Hillsborough named among 100 places that tell England’s national story

HILLSBOROUGH football stadium in Sheffield has been named as one of the locations that “best represent the history of England”.

Historic England included the South Yorkshire stadium, the site of the 1989 football disaster, in its list of 100 places that will “encourage debate about which places best tell the country’s national story”.

It is one of 10 places to feature in the Loss and Destruction category, judged by Mary Beard, the historian, who considered a longlist of public nominations. Beard said: “It has been a pleasure, but also very hard and sometimes distressing to select 10 places out of the nominations in this category.

“It has reminded me how important it is to remember and to memorialise tragedy. This is such a powerful symbol of human tenacity in pursuit of justice after terrible loss of life.”

Ninety-six football fans died and 766 were injured in a crush at Hillsborough during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15 1989.

Families of the victims campaigned for a new inquiry into their deaths and, in 2016, inquests found the fans had been unlawfully killed. The inquests concluded that the supporters were not to blame for the disaster.

Other sites in the Loss and Destruction category include the ruins of Whitby Abbey in N Yorks, the Must Farm Bronze Age settlement in Cambridgeshire and Euston Arch in King’s Cross, London.

Duncan Wilson, the chief executive of Historic England, said: “This category has given us 10 striking examples of places that have been lost or destroyed, or those that have been witness to loss and destruction.

“Some of these have been the sites of terrible tragedies, which for better or worse have shaped us as a nation, or taught us how to confront the past, present and future and make progress from what we have learned.” Other categories will include Science and Discovery, and Travel and Tourism.

A Historic England spokesman said: “The places identified as the sites of important events during this campaign may not be definitive. We have chosen the spots that are widely agreed to have witnessed historic events.

“History is often disputed and part of our job is to raise a debate and help people to engage with their history.”