St Martin's Church
The church of St Martin at Wharram Percy, is one of the most thoroughly investigated parish churches in England.
A church served the village of Wharram Percy since the 10th or 11th century and after the desertion of the village, was used by the inhabitants of nearby Thixendale. It was finally abandoned in the 1950s. In 1959, part of the west tower collapsed in a storm. The roof of the nave was finally removed in the 1970s.
The interior of the church and part of the churchyard were excavated between 1962 and 1974, revealing much information about the building and the people who worshipped and were buried here. In particular, the excavators discovered several phases of building which have left no trace above ground, including a small stone church of the 11th century, possibly replacing an even earlier timber structure.
The changes to the building over time reflect changes to the village as a whole. From small beginnings, the church was completely rebuilt in the 12th century, enlarged through the 13th and 14th centuries with the addition of side aisles and a longer chancel, but was dramatically reduced in the 15th or 16th century, when the village was deserted. The size of the church reflects changes in population size, but also the wealth of the landholders and shifting religious practices, for example, the need for more altars in the side-aisles.
Apart from being abandoned since the 1950s and roofless since the 1970s, this is a typical English parish church. Thousands of other churches, if they could be studied as intensively, would tell an equally complicated story.
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