Imber is an uninhabited village within the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

's training area on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. It lies in an isolated area of the Plain, about west of the

A360 road The A360 is an A road in Wiltshire, England, running from Devizes to Salisbury, through the villages of Potterne, West Lavington, Tilshead, and Shrewton, and passing near the Stonehenge ancient monument. Route The road is long and start ...

between

Tilshead Tilshead () is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire in Southern England, about northwest of the town of Amesbury. It is close to the geographical centre of Salisbury Plain, on the A360 road approximately midway between the ...

and West Lavington. A

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship (''function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear r ...

, its main street follows the course of a stream. Recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, Imber was always an isolated community, several miles from any market town, and most of its men worked in agriculture or related trades. Beginning in the 1890s, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

slowly bought up the village, and in 1943 the whole population of about 150 was evicted to provide an exercise area for American troops preparing for the

invasion of Europe Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

. After the war, the villagers were not allowed to return to their homes. The area of the former parish, which is now part of the

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 authority ...

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small neigh ...

, remains under the control of the Ministry of Defence despite several attempts by former residents to return. Non-military access is limited to several open days a year.

History

Early history

Settlement in the area began before the period of Roman rule, in the

British Iron Age The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...

or earlier. Several ancient trackways lead to and from the village. The first documentary evidence of Imber's existence comes from

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times, with a mention of the village in 967. A small settlement called ''Imembrie'' with seven households was recorded in the 1086

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 manusc ...

. The village's church of

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

dates from the 13th century and has notable wall-paintings from the 15th. By the 14th century the population of the village had risen to around 250, where it is believed to have remained until the 19th century. Population peaked at 440 as recorded in the census of 1851, declining to around 150 by the time of Imber's evacuation. Imber Wiltshire England 1902

Imber was always an isolated community,

being relatively sparsely populated, and most of its residents were employed in agriculture or work that directly depended on it. The village had the elongated form of a

, and its main street followed the course of a stream known as Imber Dock. The only building to survive in a reasonable condition is the church; the rest became derelict or were demolished by the Army. In 1943 there was also a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

chapel (built in 1839, demolished in late 1970s), a post office, and a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called the ''Bell Inn'', which still stands; as does the manor house, Imber Court and a farmhouse, farm cottages, schoolroom and four "council house" type blocks built in 1938.

Eviction and military use

In the late 19th century the

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 ...

began buying land on Salisbury Plain, primarily to the east of Imber, and using it for manœuvres. Beginning in the late 1920s, farms around Imber were bought, as well as the land on which the village sat. The pressures of agricultural depression, combined with the good prices offered by the military, encouraged the sale of land, with few being put off by the new conditions of their tenancy. This allowed the War Office to assume control and evict the residents if necessary. By the time of the

, almost all of the land in and around Imber, except the church, vicarage, chapel, schoolroom and the Bell Inn, belonged to the War Office. On 1 November 1943, with preparations for the Allied invasion of mainland Europe under way, the people of Imber were called to a meeting in the village schoolroom and given 47 days' notice to leave their homes; Imber was to be used by US forces to practise street fighting. Richard Madigan's evidence to the Defence Lands Committee (DLC) stated that street fighting practise never took place and that his, and others', duties were to keep the village in good repair for the villagers' eventual return. The reason for eviction was the village's proximity to shell impact areas. Imber, what you can and can't do - geograph

Imber, what you can and can't do - geograph

Although upset about being forced to leave, most villagers put up no resistance, even leaving canned provisions in their kitchens and taking the view that it was their duty to contribute to the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...

in this waymaking sacrifices on the

Home Front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...

for the greater good. Compensation for the move was limited, and the occupants of one farm had to be forcibly evicted by the Army. Albert Nash, who had been the village blacksmith for over 40 years, is said to have been found sobbing over his anvil and later became the first resident to die and be brought back to Imber for burial. It was said that he died of a broken heart after being forced to leave the village. After the war, the village was used extensively for training, particularly preparing soldiers for service in the urban environments of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

during

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, and several empty house-like buildings were constructed during the 1970s to aid training. Since 1988,

urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and t ...

training has been centred at a purpose-built complex at Copehill Down, about 3 miles to the southeast.

Restoration attempts

Many of the village's buildings suffered

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

and explosion damage after the war when UK military operations began, and, additionally eroded by the weather, quickly fell into disrepair. Although the villagers had been told they could return in six months, this was never allowed. Documentary evidence of a return agreement was only discovered at the Defence Land Committee hearings. At the end of the war, efforts were made to restore Imber to its pre-war conditionalthough there was very little damagebut the decision was taken not to relinquish control. A rally in the village was organised in 1961 to demand that the villagers be allowed to move back, and over 2,000 people attended, including many former residents. A

public inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...

was held, and found in favour of Imber's continued military use. The matter was also raised in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, and it was decided that the church would be maintained, and would be open for worship on the Saturday closest to

St Giles' Day Events Pre-1600 * 1145 – The main altar of Lund Cathedral, at the time seat of the archiepiscopal see of all the Nordic countries, is consecrated. * 1173 – The widow Stamira sacrifices herself in order to raise the siege of Ancon ...

each year, a practice that continues. A further attempt to restore Imber took place in the early 1970s when the Defence Lands Committee (DLC) was given the task of looking into the need for the retention of

lands. The Imber case was represented before the DLC by David J. Johnson, an Imber researcher; Richard Madigan, a former soldier who helped to evacuate the villageand testified to the promise of return after the warand Rex Mutters, a wartime fighter pilot. They were assisted by Austin Underwood, who had led the campaign in the early 1960s and backed-up with written evidence from former villagers. In spite of all the additional evidence, including the first re-appearance since 1943 of the original eviction letter (which indicated return), the DLC recommended that the village be retained for military use.

Present day

The annual church service, on the Saturday nearest to 1 September (St Giles' Day), has been attended by former residents including Ken Mitchell (grandson of Albert Nash); the son of the last schoolmistress, John Williams; soldiers who have used the village for training, and the general public. The village is open to visitors on other occasions: generally, these are certain bank holidays and around Christmas. Since 2009 there has been a carol service on the Saturday before Christmas. Since 2009, the annual summer opening of the village has been served by preserved and new double-decker buses, many originally from London. These operate to a scheduled public timetable, not as excursions, and the village appears as a destination on the bus stop at Warminster railway station.

St Giles' Parish Church

Unlike the rest of the parish, St Giles' church and its graveyard remained in the hands of the

Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of Dorset (excepting the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which fall within t ...

, although access was and is controlled by the Ministry of Defence. The Bell Inn was sold to the MoD in the mid-1950s and the Baptist Chapel in the late 1970s. The

of Imber was eventually incorporated into neighbouring

, to the south, while for

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

purposes the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

of Imber was incorporated into the parish of

Edington Eddington or Edington may refer to: People *Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician *Eddington (surname), people with the surname Places Australia * Eddington, Victoria United Kingdom * Eddington, Berkshire * Eddington, Cambridge * Ed ...

, to the north. This combined ecclesiastical parish of Edington with Imber was responsible for another ancient listed church,

Edington Priory Edington Priory in Wiltshire, England, was founded by William Edington, the bishop of Winchester, in 1351 in his home village of Edington, about east of the town of Westbury. The priory church was consecrated in 1361 and continues in use as the ...

, as well as St Giles'. The church was recorded as

Grade I listed 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 1987. By 2001 it had become clear, according to a Church of England press release, that St Giles's "was in need of extensive repairs". Since it was "not possible for the parochial church council to accept liability for the maintenance of a building to which they only had effective access for worship once a year", the Edington with Imber PCC requested that Imber church be declared redundant, a process which ended in 2005 with the vesting of the church in the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. In the meantime, the church tower had been struck by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

in 2003, weakening the structure, but restoration work began in 2008 and the annual service resumed in September 2009 on completion of the works.

Governance

The

of Imber has been incorporated into the adjoining parish of

. A parish council known as "Heytesbury, Imber and Knook" covers this parish and the neighbouring parish of Knook. Although it has no electors, Imber is represented in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

by the member for South West Wiltshire,

Andrew Murrison Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, naval officer and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Wiltshire, previously Westbury, since the 2001 ...

; and on

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

Christopher Newbury Christopher Newbury (born 1956) is a British Conservative politician. He was a member of the Congress of the Council of Europe from 1998 to 2010 and since 2009 has been a member of the new Wiltshire Council, created that year. Early life Newbury ...

. With the exception of St Giles' church, the whole of the former parish is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is administered as part of its

Salisbury Plain Training Area Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

Popular culture

Imber features in the 1965 movie ''

Catch Us If You Can "Catch Us If You Can" is a 1965 song from The Dave Clark Five, written by group's drummer Dave Clark and guitarist Lenny Davidson. It was the title song for the film of the same name, which was retitled ''Having a Wild Weekend'' in the United ...

'', the debut feature film of director

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), ...

and a starring vehicle for the British pop group

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

. In

Victor Canning Victor Canning (16 June 1911 – 21 February 1986) was a prolific British writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was personally reticent, writing no memoirs and giving relatively few newspaper interviews. ...

's 1972 novel for teenagers ''The Runaways'', the cheetah that has escaped from

Longleat Safari Park Longleat Safari and Adventure Park in Wiltshire, England, was opened in 1966 as the world's first drive-through safari park outside Africa. History The park is situated in the grounds of Longleat House, an English stately home which is open t ...

makes a den on the firing range close to Imber and her cubs are found there by the young hero Smiler. A photograph taken in Imber is featured on the cover of '' These Four Walls'', the 2009 debut album from Scottish indie rock band

We Were Promised Jetpacks We Were Promised Jetpacks are a Scottish indie rock band originally from Edinburgh, formed in 2003. The band consists of Adam Thompson (vocals, guitar), Sean Smith (bass) and Darren Lackie (drums). Stuart McGachan (keyboards, guitar) was a mem ...

. The 2013 novel ''The Sea Change'' by Joanna Rossiter centres on the evacuation of Imber, and the subsequent experiences of fictional characters from the village in the war and post-war years. Neil Spring's 2017 novel ''The Lost Village'', a ghost story featuring ghost hunter

Harry Price Harry Price (17 January 1881 – 29 March 1948) was a British psychic researcher and author, who gained public prominence for his investigations into psychical phenomena and exposing fraudulent spiritualist mediums. He is best known for ...

, is set in Imber. Imber features in the fourth episode of

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...

's Channel 5 series ''Portillo's Hidden History of Britain'' broadcast 11 May 2018.

Musical references

Mount Vernon Arts Lab Mount Vernon Arts Lab is a musical project of the Scottish musician Drew Mulholland, who has also recorded as Black Noise and N. Between 1996 and 2001, a string of EPs, singles, and albums were released. After this he continued to release mater ...

recorded the instrumental piece ''Imber'' by Drew Mulholland and this was released on Earworm Subscription Series in 1998 (WORMSS2). ''Little Imber'' by the Georgian composer

Giya Kancheli Gia Kancheli ( ka, გია ყანჩელი; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019) was a Georgian composer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia but resided in Belgium. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli lived first in B ...

is a piece for small ensemble, voice, children's and men's choirs. It was performed in the church at Imber in 2003 and the recording released on ECM Records in 2008 (ECM 1812). The Norwegian electronic duo Kook recorded an album called ''Imber, Wiltshire'' of seven wordless compositions all with titles taken from the village and its inhabitants. This was released on Va Fongool Records (VAFCD011). The Wiltshire folk group The Yirdbards recorded their song ''The Ghosts of Old Imber'' at St Giles' Church in the village in October 2013 and released it on CD in 2014 to raise funds for the church.

Gallery

File:Imber Village, Salisbury Plain.jpg File:4aa.jpg File:5aa.jpg File:Imber - the former Seagrams Farm - geograph.org.uk - 537265.jpg, The former Seagrams Farm File:Imber - Training Houses - geograph.org.uk - 1459888.jpg, Houses used for training purposes File:Imber - The Bell Public House - geograph.org.uk - 1459872.jpg, This building was a pub known as ''The Bell'' File:Imber - Imber Court - geograph.org.uk - 1459883.jpg, Imber Court building File:A8a.jpg File:Imber Village, Salisbury Plain 413.jpg File:Monument to four highwaymen, Imber Range, near Tilshead - geograph.org.uk - 522677.jpg, Monument to victim of highwaymen, Imber Range

References

External links

Parish of Heytesbury, Imber, Knook and TytheringtonSt Giles ChurchInformation about access to Imber
fro
public-interest.co.uk
from ThincTanc
Maps and photos of the churchEtymology of the nameReview of the 2003 arts event at Imber in The TimesImber: An English Ghost Town
— slideshow by ''

Life magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

''
Audio slideshow: The lost village of Imber
— audio slideshow by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...