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Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village located in the Wolds of North Yorkshire, England, which was progressively abandoned between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. The site preserves extensive archaeological remains of the settlement, including the foundations of peasant dwellings, field systems, and the Church of St Martin, which still stands as a substantial structure and provides evidence of the community's religious and social organisation. The village demonstrates the landscape transformations that occurred during the later medieval period, when economic changes and shifts in land use led to the depopulation of many rural settlements across northern England. Systematic archaeological investigation, undertaken from the 1950s onwards, has made Wharram Percy one of the most thoroughly studied examples of a deserted medieval village and has yielded significant evidence regarding medieval rural life, settlement patterns, and the processes of village desertion.
Wharram Percy deserted medieval village is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1011377. View the official record →
Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village located in the Wolds of North Yorkshire, England, which was progressively abandoned between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1011377.
Wharram Percy deserted medieval village is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1011377.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Sections of linear boundary dyke in Frendal Dale, Tun Dale, and Great Plantation, between Millington and Huggate Wolds (8.6 km), Bowl barrow on Huggate Pasture, 500m north of Pasture Dale Plantation (8.7 km), Sections of single and multiple linear boundary dykes on Huggate Pasture and Frendal Dale (8.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Wharram Percy deserted medieval village's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Wharram Percy deserted medieval village stands on West Walton Formation, Ampthill Clay Formation And Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Kimmeridgian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.