England's Forgotten Villages: Wharram Percy, Gainsthorpe and Tyneham

A lost or deserted village is one where a community once lived but the settlement has largely disappeared or been abandoned. It isn't simply a quiet town or an old village with a famous church. England has many genuine examples, with reasons for abandonment ranging from changes in farming to twentieth-century military use.

Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire

In the Yorkshire Wolds, Wharram Percy is one of England's best-known deserted medieval villages. The settlement flourished for centuries before dwindling through the later Middle Ages. English Heritage's research shows the decline wasn't caused by one event: changing ownership, reduced cultivation and a move towards sheep pasture all played roles.

Today you can make out the shapes of former houses in the grassy earthworks, with the ruined church of St Martin below. Lyn and I have explored the area and recorded a 4.79-mile circular walk here.

See our Wharram Percy Circular Walk and Komoot map and the English Heritage history of Wharram Percy.

Gainsthorpe, Lincolnshire

Gainsthorpe is another genuine deserted medieval village, with streets, building platforms and other earthworks still visible in the fields near Kirton in Lindsey. It was mentioned in Domesday Book and had certainly been abandoned by the early seventeenth century. The precise reasons for its disappearance aren't known, despite old stories about outlaws.

Read the English Heritage history of Gainsthorpe for the archaeological evidence. This is an English example outside Yorkshire, not one of our recorded White Shire walks.

Tyneham, Dorset

Tyneham has a very different history. Its residents were required to leave in 1943 when the surrounding land was taken for military training. The village was never fully returned to civilian life, and remains within the Lulworth Ranges. Unlike medieval Wharram Percy, the story here is directly connected to the Second World War.

Public entry is controlled because the area is still used for military training. The Ministry of Defence's official Tyneham access dates should be consulted rather than assuming the village is always open.

Discover More Yorkshire History

For a local example you can explore through our own route recording, start with Wharram Percy. Our Yorkshire Walks collection includes more historic landscapes and villages, with original maps on the individual walk pages.

Historical background is based on English Heritage and Ministry of Defence information; our personal walk is Wharram Percy.