Abandoned Village - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Many villages in the United Kingdom have been abandoned throughout history. This is often the result of natural events, such as rivers changing course or silting up, or coastal and estuarine erosion.

Sometimes villages are deliberately cleared; the Harrying of the North caused widespread devastation in the winter of 1069–1070. In the 12th and 13th centuries, many villages were removed to make way for monasteries, and in the 18th century, it became fashionable for land-owning aristocrats to live in large mansions set in large landscaped parklands. Villages that obstructed the view were removed, although by the early 19th century it had become common to provide replacement villages.

In modern times, a few villages have been abandoned due to reservoirs being built and the location being flooded. These include Mardale Green in the English Lake District and two villages – Ashopton and Derwent – drowned by the Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire. In other cases, such as Tide Mills, East Sussex, Imber and Tyneham, the village lands have been converted to military training areas. Villages in Northumberland have been demolished to make way for open cast mines. Hampton-on-Sea was abandoned due to coastal erosion thought to have been exacerbated by the building of a pier.