Wharram Percy ~ Easy Walk

Distance: 2.75 miles   Time to complete walk: 1.5 hours

Safety Tips: No safety issues- wear sensible footwear and take a stick as part of the walk can get muddy after rain.

A walk to the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy which is one of the most famous of many remaining ancient villages. Ideal for families to look at a fine church and a farm building. There are excellent information panels along the walk which explain the history of the village. Great for kids and everything is free!

 

The Wharram Percy Walk

 

Getting There

From Middlesbrough follow the B1257 to Helmsley. Go through Helmsley and turn right on the A170 briefly. Then head back onto the B1257 through Hovingham until you come to Malton. Follow the B1248 through North Grimston and look for a right turning signed to Wharram Percy shortly after. Parking is free and is on the right.

 

Map of the Wharram Percy Walk

 

The Walk

 

From the car park follow the grass track down towards the village.

 

 

 

Sign to the village

 

Follow the track down

 

 

You are on a section of the Wolds Way. Go through a gate and head for another gate over a small field which leads down to a bridge.

 

 

 

Go through gate

 

Go over the bridge



 

 

Head up some steps and you will come to the official entrance to Wharram Percy which is through another gate.

 

 

Entrance to Wharram Percy

 

Turn left and follow the track and head towards the farm building. There are information panels all along the route.

 

 

 

Follow the track to the left

 

Head towards the farm building



 

If you wish to learn more about the farm building there are information panels around the village.

 

 

Information Panel

 

Farm Building

 

Head towards the church which you can explore whilst learning about the history of it on the information panels.

 

 

Head towards the church

 

St Martins church at Wharram Percy

 

Information Panel

 

 

 

From the church head past the fish pond and look for a path upwards to the left.

 

 

 

Head past the fish pond

 

Follow the path up to the left of the pond

 

 

Follow the path upwards towards a gate and go through the gate.



 

Head up towards the gate

 

Go through the gate

 

Follow the track for some time which is above Deep Dale and has a great view all around.

 

 

Follow the track ahead

 

View of Deep Dale on your right

 

 

As the grass track swings to the right, look for a gate and stile on your left and go over the stile. 

 

 

Go through the gate and stile on your left

 

 

Follow this grassy track until shortly after you pass some woods you come to a lane.

 

Keep ahead on the track

 

 

Head past the woods

 

 

Head onto the lane



Head onto the lane and follow the lane to the left. Follow the lane until you come back to the carpark.

 

Follow the lane ahead

 

Reach the carpark

 

 

Wharram Percy

 

Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village (DMV) 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 B1248 Beverley to Malton road. Wharram Percy was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until the 1974 boundary changes. Wharram Percy is a significant English DMV, although there are remains of others in a similarly good state of preservation. 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

 

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 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.

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. English Heritage installed information panels around the site, and provided an audio tour downloadable in mp3 format from the English Heritage website.
A scientific study published in 2004 of human skeletal remains from the deserted village reveals details of disease, diet and death in a rural medieval community.
The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail passes through the site, and the Centenary Way long-distance footpath passes to the east of the village.