Tyneham is a ghost village abandoned in 1943 and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, now in the civil parish of Steeple with Tyneham, in south

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England, near

Lulworth Lulworth is the popular name for an area on the coast of Dorset, South West England notable for its castle and cove. However, there is no actual place or feature called simply "Lulworth", the villages are East and West Lulworth and the coastal f ...

on the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the no ...

. In 2001 the civil parish had a population of 0. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2014 and merged with

Steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

to form Steeple with Tyneham.

Location

The village is situated northeast of

Worbarrow Bay Worbarrow Bay is a large broad and shallow bay just to the east of Lulworth Cove on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England. Location Worbarrow Bay is located about six kilometres south of Wareham and about 16 kilometres west of Swanage. At the ...

on the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...

, about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage. The village lies in a secluded east-west valley between two ridges of the

Purbeck Hills The Purbeck Hills, also called the Purbeck Ridge or simply the Purbecks, are a ridge of chalk downs in Dorset, England. It is formed by the structure known as the Purbeck Monocline. The ridge extends from Lulworth Cove in the west to Old H ...

. To the north is the main ridge with

Povington Hill Povington Hill, at high, is one of the highest points on the chain of the Purbeck Hills in south Dorset on the southern coast of England. Its prominence of means it is listed as one of the Tumps, although map sources suggest this honour shoul ...

() and its highest point,

Ridgeway Hill Ridgeway Hill, also referred to as Grange Hill or Steeple Hill, is the third highest point of the Purbeck Hills in the county of Dorset standing at , is one of the only hills with a prominence of over a hundred metres, HuMPs, in the county. Near ...

(). To the south is the ridge above

Gad Cliff Gad Cliff is a south-facing cliff face, immediately to the east of Worbarrow Tout and Pondfield Cove, on the south coast of the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. Behind it is Gold Down, part of the Lulworth Ranges. Location Gad Cliff is l ...

that runs from the headland of

Worbarrow Tout Worbarrow Tout is a promontory at the eastern end of Worbarrow Bay on Isle of Purbeck in Dorset on the south coast of England, about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage. Immediately to its east is Pondfield Cove. Worbarrow Tout ("tou ...

in the west to the knoll of

Tyneham Cap Tyneham Cap is a prominent, grassy knoll, high, on the South West Coast Path in Dorset, England. It rises above Brandy Bay and has extensive views along the Jurassic Coast across Kimmeridge Bay towards Swyre Head and St Aldhelm's Head to the ...

() in the east.Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 ''Landranger'' map series no. 195, 2015

Access

Tyneham is only accessible when the

Lulworth Ranges The Lulworth Ranges are military firing ranges located between Wareham and Lulworth in Dorset, England. They cover an area of more than , are leased in a rolling contract from the Weld Estate by the Ministry of Defence and are part of the Armoure ...

are open to the public. The military firing ranges are owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and are part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School. Safety warnings about explosives and unexploded shells are posted at Mupe Bay by the MoD: visitors are advised to keep to official footpaths and observe local site notices because

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s and armoured vehicles are used in this area.

History

The parish includes evidence of occupation dating back to Iron Age Britain; there are more than 30 barrows in the area, although most have been damaged by shelling. Proof of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

occupation has also been found in the valley around Tyneham, and there were salt-boiling, shale-turning and Purbeck Marble industries at

. South of the chalk ridge are remains of a medieval settlement and strip fields. It seems that it was once the possession of Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of

William I of England William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. The village is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

as ''Tigeham'', meaning "goat enclosure". A century later, the village was known as Tiham and only in later times as Tyneham. The limestone church of St Mary dates from at least the 15th century. In 1683

Nathaniel Bond Nathaniel Bond KS (14 June 163431 August 1707), of Creech Grange in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament. Bond was the fourth son of Denis Bond, a prominent politician during the Interregnum, succeedin ...

(1634–1707) of Lutton acquired Tyneham from the Williams family. He also bought Creech Grange in 1691 and the family still hold their Purbeck estates. Tyneham school was established by the Reverend Nathaniel Bond (1804–89) in 1860. It was later declared as property of the rectory and was closed in 1932 due to lack of pupils. The village and of surrounding

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

land and chalk

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

around the

were requisitioned just before Christmas 1943 by the then

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

(now MoD) for use as firing ranges for training troops. 225 people were displaced, the last person leaving a notice on the church door: This measure was supposed to be temporary for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, but in 1948 the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

placed a

compulsory purchase order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for p ...

on the land and it has remained in use for military training ever since. Although littered with scrap used as targets, and subject to regular shelling, the land has become a haven for wildlife as it has been free from farming and development. In 1975, after complaints from tourists and locals, the Ministry of Defence began opening the village and footpaths across the ranges at weekends and throughout August. Many of the village buildings have fallen into disrepair or have been damaged by shelling. In 1967, most of the manor house, with parts that dated back to the 14th century, was pulled down by the then Ministry of Works. The building's east front was reconstructed at Athelhampton, with smaller parts moved to Melcombe Horsey and Bingham's Melcombe. The church of St Mary, however, remains largely intact; it has a stained-glass window by

Martin Travers Howard Martin Otho Travers (19 February 1886 – 25 July 1948) was an English church artist and designer. Travers was born in Margate, Kent, educated at Tonbridge School, entered the Royal College of Art in 1904, and was awarded its Diploma in A ...

and memorials to the Bond family, but the 17th century pulpit was moved to

Lulworth Camp Lulworth Camp is a British Army base that is home to the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Gunnery School and runs the Lulworth Ranges on the southern coast of Dorset, England. It is part of Bovington Garrison and is located on the Purbeck Ridge between ...

and the plate to

Kimmeridge Kimmeridge () is a small village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England. It is situated about south of Wareham and west of Swanage. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil p ...

. The church and school house have since been preserved as museums. The church, school and

drinking fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...

are all grade II

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. In 2008, Tyneham Farm was reopened to the public and conservation work there is ongoing.

Film and literature

In 1985 the village was used for the filming of ''Comrades'', which depicts the story of the

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested on ...

. The church had a fibreglass tower and large additional gravestones, and Post Office Row was fronted with fibreglass cottages. During the filming Tyneham's original 1929 K1 Mark 236 telephone kiosk was destroyed and the film company sourced a replacement. The village is the setting for the climax to the comic-thriller ''Angel's Share'' by

Mike Ripley Mike Ripley was born in 1952 and is the British author of the award-winning ‘Angel’ series of comedy thrillers as well as a critic and archaeologist. Life and work Ripley is the author of the ''Angel'' series of comedy thrillers set mainly in E ...

(2006). Tyneham is featured in episode 5 of the first season of ''

Life After People ''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of hu ...

'', "The Invaders", in which its existence as a settlement suddenly abandoned by its residents is examined. The village is the setting for the novel ''The Forgotten Village'' by Lorna Cook (2019).

Gallery

File:050402 058 dorset worbarrow.jpg, Worbarrow Bay and Mupe Rocks behind a ruined house File:Tyneham-church.jpg, Tyneham St Mary's Church - south transept File:Tyneham-school.jpg, Tyneham School House File:Tyneham houses.jpg, Tyneham houses - the shepherd's house, Post Office, and telephone booth

References

External links

Tyneham: Opening Dates and TimesTyneham & WorbarrowTyneham VillageTyneham HouseGoogle Earth view
{{authority control Former civil parishes in Dorset Former populated places in Dorset Ghost towns in England History of Dorset Isle of Purbeck Jurassic Coast Villages in Dorset Forcibly depopulated communities in the United Kingdom during World War II Populated places disestablished in 2014