The village of Imber in Wiltshire has remained uninhabited since 1943, when residents were given just 47 days’ notice to leave behind their homes – to which they never returned
A ‘lost’ village in Wiltshire which saw all residents forced out of their homes more than 80 years ago and has been abandoned ever since will be opened to the public for just one day this summer.
Imber, an uninhabited village on Salisbury Plain, was evacuated in 1943 and the villagers were removed so American troops could use the land to train for the D-Day landings.
Residents were given just 47 days’ notice to leave their homes and the village remains a training ground for urban warfare all these years later. The blacksmith, Albert Nash, was said to have died from a broken heart after having to leave his beloved home.
Now, decades later, the village is opened up to the public on select days each year. Visitors can travel to Imber and step back in time to the ghost town, which is still uninhabited.
However, over the years, the number of days on which the village is open to the public has been reduced. Neil Skelton, custodian of St Giles Church and the Ministry of Defence ’s main liaison for access to Imber said: “The reason for this restriction is that visitors have been ignoring the instructions regarding trespassing in the restricted areas in Imber village.
Skelton said going into restricted areas in the village “puts the individual at risk of injury or even death as there can be unexploded ordnance in those areas”.
This year, the village will be open on August 16, and to get there you must take the ImberBus from Warminster. The buses leave approximately every 10-15 minutes between 9.30am-5pm and tickets cost £10 for adults and £2 for children.
You cannot pre-book a seat on the bus and so visitors should simply turn up and pay the conductor on the bus, or buy a ticket from the ticket booth outside Warminster Station on the day.
During the open day, the main attraction will be the 16th century St Giles’ Church, which is the only building open to the public. There are almost no facilities, according to the ImberBus website, which means no shops, no permanent toilets, no electricity, and no phone signal.
All other buildings and areas are “strictly out of bounds to the general public”, with trespassers risking prosecution and injury, a warning explains.
For those keen to learn more about Imber’s history, there will be an exhibition in the Athaneum Theatre in Warminster, and an art exhibition in the Library.
The first time the open day took place was in September 2009 and it quickly became an annual event. In 2023, 28 buses were in operation and almost £35,000 was raised for the Imber Church fund, the Royal British Legion, and Macmillan Cancer Support.
