Wharram Percy
Wharram Percy | |
---|---|
Ruin of St Martin's parish church | |
Location within North Yorkshire | |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Wharram Percy is a
The
The site is now in the care of Historic England (formerly English Heritage).
History
Although the site seems to have been settled since prehistory, the village appears to have been most active from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as 'Warran' or 'Warron'. The suffix 'Percy' stems from the prominent, aristocratic family that owned the area during the Middle Ages.
The Black Death of 1348–49 does not seem to have played a significant part in the desertion of Wharram Percy, although the large fall in population in the country as a whole at that time must have encouraged relocation to larger settlements.
In 1402 or 1403, the Percy family exchanged their holdings in the area with the
Present site
The site is now in the care of Historic England. Although only the ruined church is easily visible above ground, much more of the village layout can be seen in the surrounding fields.
The site has been subject to archaeological investigations since the 1950s.[7] In 2002 English Heritage (now called Historic England) undertook an archaeological investigation and analytical field survey of Wharram Percy.[8] A 2004 study of a sizeable collection of human skeletal remains, excavated from the churchyard of the deserted village, reveals details of disease, diet and death in the rural medieval community. This used the latest scientific techniques to make observations about childhood growth, duration of breastfeeding, and osteoporosis and tuberculosis.[9]
The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail passes through the site, and the Centenary Way long-distance footpath passes to the east of the village.
St Martin's Church
St Martin’s Church has evolved, through six phases, between the early 12th and early 17th centuries. The tower collapsed in 1959 and thereafter the interior was excavated, revealing a smaller, mid-11th-century stone church and an earlier, mid- to late 10th-century, timber building.[10]
References
- ^ "Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village". English Heritage. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ O.S. Yorkshire Sheet 143, 6" = 1 mile, surveyed:1850–51, published:1854
- ^ Aston, M. (1985). Interpreting the Landscape: Landscape Archaeology and Local History. p. 67.
- ^ Eaton, Jonathan (2014). An Archaeological History of Britain: Continuity and Change from Prehistory to the Present. p. 151.
- ^ "Relationships and changes Wharram CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ Linford, N. T.; Linford, P. K. (2003). "Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire: Report on Geophysical Surveys, 1984-2002. Historic England Research Report 28/2003". research.historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ Oswald, A. (2004). "Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village, North Yorkshire: Archaeological Investigation and Survey: Survey Report. Historic England Research Report 94/2004". research.historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Mays, Simon (Spring 2004). "Human Osteology at Wharram Percy: Life and death in a medieval village". Conservation Bulletin. No. 45. Historic England. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ "Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village". English Heritage. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
Further reading
- Wrathmell, Susan (1996). Wharram Percy: Deserted Medieval Village. ISBN 978-1-85074-620-1.
External links
- Wharram Percy in the Domesday Book
- Wharram Percy by the former chief guide of the Beresford excavation
- English Heritage – History of Wharram Percy
- Investigation history at Historic England
- Bodies theories at BBC News
- English Heritage's investigation of the site in 2002
- Abandoned communities ..... Wharram Percy
- BBC Radio 4 programme on Wharram Percy