Deserted medieval village
In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks.[citation needed] If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convention is to regard the site as deserted; if there are more than three houses, it is regarded as a shrunken medieval village. There are estimated to be more than 3,000 DMVs in England alone.
Other deserted settlements
Not all sites are medieval: villages reduced in size or disappeared over a long period, from as early as
Reasons for desertion
Over the centuries, settlements have been deserted as a result of natural events, such as rivers changing course or
Many were thought to have been abandoned due to the deaths of their inhabitants from the
Later, the aristocratic fashion for grand country
Examples
Perhaps the best-known deserted medieval village in England is at Wharram Percy in North Yorkshire, because of the extensive archaeological excavations conducted there between its discovery in 1948 and 1990. Its ruined church and its former fishpond are still visible.[1]
In Northamptonshire, around 100 villages can be classified as deserted: there are articles relating to many of them, such as Onley, Althorp, Canons Ashby, Church Charwelton and Coton along with Faxton, Glendon, Snorscombe, Wolfhampcote and Wythmail.
Other examples are at Gainsthorpe and Burreth in Lincolnshire.[2][3][4]
See also
- Abandoned village
- Ghost town
- Ghost estate - A modern phenomenon in rural Ireland
- Walraversijde – most researched deserted medieval fishing village in Europe
References
- ^ "National Monument record for Wharram Percy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
- ^ "National Monument record for Gainsthorpe". Archived from the original on 2012-07-18.
- ^ Beresford, Maurice (1983). Lost Villages of England. pp. 945, 98, 265, 335, 363.
- ^ Historic England (2015). "Burreth". Pastscape. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- Foster, C.W., ed. (1920). Final Concords of the County of Lincoln: 1244-1272. pp. 50–65, 'Lost vills and other forgotten places'. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
Further reading
- Christopher Dyer; Richard Jones, eds. (2010). Deserted Villages Revisited. University of Hertfordshire Press. ISBN 978-1-905313-79-2.