Wharram Percy

Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village and former civil parish near Wharram-le-Street, now in the parish of Wharram, on the western edge of the chalk Wolds of North Yorkshire, England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Wharram-le-Street and is signposted from the Beverley to Malton road (B1248). In 1931 the parish had a population of 40. It was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Ryedale, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. The earthworks of the village have been known for many years, and outlines of house platforms were drawn onto the first Ordnance Survey six-inch maps of Yorkshire published in 1854. The site was researched each summer by combined teams of archaeologists, historians and even botanists, from about 1950 to 1990 after it was singled out for study in 1948 by Professor Maurice Beresford of the University of Leeds. The site is now in the care of Historic England (formerly English Heritage).

1. 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 name Wharram possibly derives from the plural form of either the Old English hwer meaning 'cauldron', or the Old Norse hvarf meaning 'bend'. 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 Hylton family. Following changes in prices and wages during the 15th century, pastoral farming (particularly sheep) was more profitable for landowners than cereal farming. Over the century following, the Hylton family devoted more and more land to sheep, as their employment of agricultural labour decreased. During the early 16th century, the last residents of Wharram Percy were evicted and their homes were demolished to make room for more sheep pasture. Wharram Percy was an ancient parish, which continued long after the depopulation of the village. The parish also included the townships of Burdale, Raisthorpe, Thixendale and Towthorpe. In 1866 Thixendale, Towthorpe and Raisthorpe and Burdale became separate civil parishes. On 1 April 1935 the civil parish of Wharram Percy was abolished and merged with Raisthorpe and Burdale and Wharram le Street to form Wharram. In 1974 the parishes of Wharram and Thixendale were transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire.

1. 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, with excavations directed over 40 years by Maurice Beresford and John Hurst. In 2002 English Heritage (now called Historic England) undertook an archaeological investigation and analytical field survey of Wharram Percy. 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. The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail passes through the site, and the Centenary Way long-distance footpath passes to the east of the village.

1. 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.

1. References


1. Further reading

Wrathmell, Susan (1996). Wharram Percy: Deserted Medieval Village. ISBN 978-1-85074-620-1.

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

Lieux à Proximité Voir Menu

Church of St Mary, Wharram

St Mary is an Anglican church in Wharram-le-Street, North Yorkshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The church belongs to the Wold Valley benefice within the Diocese of York, along with Helperthorpe, Kirby Grindalythe, Luttons Ambo, and Weaverthorpe. About 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the church is the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy and the ruins of the Church of St Martin, which dates to a similar period.

Église Site remarquable

Wharram

Wharram is a civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Yorkshire Wolds, 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Malton. The principal settlement is the village of Wharram-le-Street, and the parish also includes the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy and the deserted medieval villages (now hamlets) of Raisthorpe and Burdale, some 3 miles (5 km) south of Wharram-le-Street. The population of the parish was estimated at 120 in 2016. The parish consists of high Wolds, rising to 741 feet (226 m) above sea level, into which are cut a number of dry valleys. In the north-east of the parish is the head of the Great Wold Valley. A deep valley, known variously as Water Dale and Burdale, runs across the south of the parish from Fimber in the east to Thixendale in the west, and a series of shorter valleys (Court Dale, William Dale, Fairy Dale, Middle Dale and Whay Dale) cut into the northern side of this valley. In the west of the parish, Drue Dale joins Deep Dale to form a broader valley in which Wharram Percy lies. In the 19th century the Malton and Driffield Junction Railway was built though these valleys from north to south, connected by the Burdale Tunnel. The wolds and valleys of the parish are now linked by three long-distance footpaths, the Yorkshire Wolds Way, the Chalkland Way and the Centenary Way. The parish was created in 1935, when the civil parishes of Wharram-le-Street (population 133), Wharram Percy (population 40) and Raisthorpe and Burdale (population 89) were abolished. At that time the parish was part of Norton Rural District in the East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1974 it was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Ryedale, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

Randonnée Site remarquable

Wharram railway station

Wharram railway station was opened by the Malton and Driffield Railway in May 1853, serving the village of Wharram-le-Street in North Yorkshire, England, although the area was in the East Riding of Yorkshire at the time. The station was also near the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy and adjacent to Wharram chalk quarry. The single platform station had a passing loop off its southern end, the only one on the line. It had the customary goods facilities for wayside stations, plus a siding into Wharram Quarry, dominated by a large chalk silo. The line was originally conceived as part of a trunk route between Kingston-upon-Hull and the North East of England, but this came to very little. The station remained throughout its life as a country station on a country byway. In some periods of its life four passenger trains a day ran in each direction between Malton and Driffield, calling at all stations between, but for the most part just three called, with no Sunday service after the outbreak of the First World War. These trains were nicknamed the "Malton Dodger". They usually had either one or two coaches, often strengthened by one or more horse boxes in this racing country. Before the Second World War, intermittent excursion traffic called at Wharram to view the station's floral displays and well as the area's scenery. In the summer of 1950, the station witnessed the passing of a Summer Saturday Filey to Newcastle train and return, which travelled via Driffield, Wharram and Gilling, joining the East Coast Main Line at Pilmoor Junction. The station and line closed to passenger traffic in June 1950. Although it was said to be reasonably loaded on Saturdays (Market Days), it carried few people except schoolchildren otherwise. The line and station were reopened to passengers in February 1953 and February 1958 when the area's roads were impassable due to snow. Freight traffic and occasional passenger specials continued until the line closed completely on 20 October 1958, the last pickup goods having called on the 18th. The quarry had "followed a similar pattern to North Grimston - rapid expansion in the post-First World War boom, enormous output in the 1920s, declining in the 1930s and fizzling out after the Second World War." In 1919 a private siding was built in the quarry with exits in both directions onto the running line. Traffic growth was dramatic, peaking in 1925 with 107,261 tons of chalk forwarded to Thirsk, bypassing Malton as the line had originally been conceived. This was down to 38,562 tons in 1926 and to a mere 3,000 tons in 1929. The quarry closed in 1930. It reopened later in the 1930s, but its output was sporadic and small scale, mainly travelling by road in bags. Such rail traffic as there was was mainly coal for the quarry's kilns. The quarry was disused by 1960 and has become a wildlife reserve. The track was lifted shortly after closure, but the station building remained in use as a private residence. In 2005 the station's water tower remained in place.

Industriel Site remarquable

Wharram-le-Street

Wharram-le-Street is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wharram, in North Yorkshire, England. Until the 1974 local government reorganisation, Wharram-le-Street was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, and from 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Ryedale. Since 2023, it is administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. The village is on the B1248 road between North Grimston and the boundary with the present East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authority. The Church of England parish church of St Mary is late Anglo-Saxon and is a Grade I listed building.

Église Site remarquable