Abandoned UK village where visitors are warned to avoid due to unexploded bombs
Tucked away from the bustling metropolises of London, Manchester, and Birmingham are abandoned towns that offer a window into the past.
Among them is the "lost" village of Imber on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, to which the old rhyme "Little Imber on the down/Seven miles from any town" is dedicated. The War Office began buying up land there from the 19th century, its isolated location making it a prime site for military operations. But as floods of American troops arrived in preparation for D-Day during the Second World War, it was decided that the safety of villagers – previously allowed to remain as tenants – could no longer be guaranteed.
Residents of Imber were evacuated in November 1943 so the village could become a military zone (PA Archive/PA Images)A total of 152 residents were called to the school village on a wintry night in November 1943 and told to evacuate within six weeks. Many left items in their cupboards, believing in vain that they would be returning as soon as the war was won.
Others were less trusting: the village blacksmith, Alfred Nash, is said to have died of a broken heart within a month of being ordered to leave. After the war, a "Forever Imber" campaign was launched on behalf of betrayed residents that even reached the House of Lords.
But the authorities doubled down and, to this day, Imber remains an active military training zone with no inhabitants, no postcode, and a maximum 50 days of public access a year. However, the custodian of Imber's 13th-Century St Giles Church, Neil Skelton, told the BBC he's "not aware the full 50 days has ever been granted".
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Danger signs warn would-be visitors that unexploded military debris awaits them if they dare venture off the public carriageway and into the village.
Imber was once a thriving community, with two churches (PA Archive/PA Images)Other British ghost towns you may not have heard of
Wharram Percy, East Yorkshire
Considered one of the largest and best preserved medieval villages, Wharram Percy was a hub of activity between the 10th and 14th centuries but was evacuated in 1500 to make room for sheep pastures.
Wharram Percy has been deserted since the early 16th century (historicengland.org.uk)Tyneham, Dorset
As in Imber, November 1943 saw residents of Tyneham "temporarily" evacuated when the British military requisitioned the area for training purposes. The original residents have never been allowed to return to their homes.
Villagers were evacuated from Tyneham in November 1943, never to return (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Samson, Isles of Scilly
The largest of the uninhabited islands on Scilly, Samson experienced devastating droughts throughout the 19th century that eventually led the Scilly Isles' Lord Proprietor Augustus Smith to remove the last two remaining families off the island. The small granite cottages they left behind have since fallen into ruin.
Samson has been deserted since 1855 (Wiki Commons)Cwmorthin, Gwynedd, Wales
Once home to around 200 people, all that remains in Cwmorthin are the dilapidated walls of old quarry buildings and the Cwmorthin Uchaf farmhouse. The quarry was so dangerous it was nicknamed "The Slaughterhouse" .
Crumbling quarry buildings and an old farmhouse are all that is left in Cwmorthin, Wales (Hadyn Iball / North Wales Live)Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
