Lost Villages of England

the long version

Britain is full of deserted, abandoned and lost villages. There are over 3,000 in England alone. Many were deserted in medieval times, for reasons ranging from death by plague to the depletion of the area's natural resources, whilst others were deserted more recently for reasons of national security. Villages such as Tyneham in Dorset, and Imber in Wiltshire, were taken over by the military in wartime, yet were never returned to their original inhabitants. Today, the desolate remains of these once-populated villages are all that remain to tell the stories of the inhabitants that once lived and worked there. Author Leigh Driver examines the historical writings, documents and archaeological remains that bear witness to the past, and tells the story of the demise of each "lost" village.