Wharram Percy is a 'deserted medieval village' in the Yorkshire Wolds, and was first settled in prehistoric times. It was abandoned in 1517 due to 'clearances' (evictions of tenant farmers) to make way for sheep; however, a vicar and a handful of farm workers continued to reside in the locality and the church and graveyard continued in use until 1949.

The site is one of the best known of the deserted medieval villages due to the archaelogical excavation and research that took place there every summer from 1950 to 1990, led by archaeologists from the University of Leeds. It is now privately owned but managed by English Heritage.

The site consists of cottage, manor and field system sites, trackways, eighteenth-century cottages, sites of vicarage and mill, the restored medieval fish-pond and a ruined church. The surrounding area abounds with insects, butterflies and wild flowers in the summer months.


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