Tyneham Village. A Ghost Village.

“Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.”
Helen Taylor a seamstress at Tyneham House wrote these poignant words when leaving Tyneham and pinned them to the doors of St Marys Church.

Tyneham is a small abandoned village around 5 miles west of Corfe Castle. The village dates back before medieval times and was a small thriving community with a Parish covering 3000 acres.

Six days before Christmas in 1943, the villagers of Tyneham in Dorset were ordered to leave their homes so the army could practise for the D-Day landings. The promise that they could return was broken. The army kept the land and the public was banished from this beautiful part of the Countryside.

After the war the village remained under military control and has been used for the past 50 years as a target area for the tanks stationed at the nearby barrack.

Today most of the village lies in ruins with only the church and school remaining fully intact. The old manor house and small cottages have collapsed with only parts of their walls remaining and all repairs to the remains of the village are taken care of by the military.

Much of the area around the village is now covered in a rich variety of vegetation and wildlife with open fields on each side of the Purbeck hills and an area of woodland in the centre of the valley following a small stream down to the sea. The Purbeck hills, which start at Swanage, end around 1 mile west of Tyneham with a high cliff and long sandy beach below.

Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s a campaign for the right of access to the Lulworth Ranges and Tyneham village took place and it is now possible to follow the footpaths on the firing ranges most weekends and Bank Holidays.

The opening times for the village and the range walks can be found at http://www.isleofpurbeck.com/tyneham.html

It is advisable to check before travelling any distance.

Tyneham Village. A Ghost Village. Images

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travlara

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31 Jul 2010 - 9:37 AM

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Tyneham is a beautiful village, which i have visited quite a few times, it is a very tranquil place and if you walk down to the sea, it has one of the best coves in Dorset. Trisha