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Tyneham
Tyneham is a ghost village abandoned in 1943 and former civil parish, now in the parish of Steeple with Tyneham, in the Dorset district, in the south of Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck. In 2001 the civil parish had a population of 0. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2014 and merged with Steeple to form Steeple with Tyneham.
The village is situated northeast of Worbarrow Bay on the Jurassic Coast, about 3.7 miles (6.0 km) south of Wareham and about 9.9 miles (15.9 km) west of Swanage. The village lies in a secluded east–west valley between two ridges of the Purbeck Hills. To the north is the main ridge with Povington Hill (191 m; 627 ft) and its highest point, Ridgeway Hill (199 m; 653 ft). To the south is the ridge above Gad Cliff that runs from the headland of Worbarrow Tout in the west to the knoll of Tyneham Cap (167 m; 548 ft) in the east.
Tyneham is only accessible when the Lulworth Ranges are open to the public. The military firing ranges are owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and are part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School. Safety warnings about explosives and unexploded shells are posted at Mupe Bay by the MoD: visitors are advised to keep to official footpaths and observe local site notices because tanks and armoured vehicles are used in this area.
The parish includes evidence of occupation dating back to Iron Age Britain; there are more than 30 barrows in the area, although most have been damaged by shelling. Proof of Roman occupation has also been found in the valley around Tyneham and there were salt-boiling, shale-turning and Purbeck Marble industries at Worbarrow Bay. South of the chalk ridge are remains of a medieval settlement and strip fields.
It seems that it was once the possession of Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William I of England. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Tigeham, meaning "goat enclosure". A century later, the village was known as Tiham and only in later times as Tyneham. The limestone church of St Mary dates from at least the 15th century, and Tyneham House was built by Henry Williams between 1563 and 1583.
In 1683 Nathaniel Bond (1634–1707) of Lutton acquired Tyneham from the Williams family. He also bought Creech Grange in 1691 and the family still hold their Purbeck estates. Tyneham school was established by the Reverend Nathaniel Bond (1804–89) in 1860. It was later declared as property of the rectory and was closed in 1932 due to lack of pupils.
The village and 7,500 acres (30 km2) of surrounding heathland and chalk downland around the Purbeck Hills were requisitioned just before Christmas 1943 by the then War Office (now MoD) for use as firing ranges for training troops. 225 people were displaced, the last person leaving a notice on the church door:
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.
Hub AI
Tyneham AI simulator
(@Tyneham_simulator)
Tyneham
Tyneham is a ghost village abandoned in 1943 and former civil parish, now in the parish of Steeple with Tyneham, in the Dorset district, in the south of Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck. In 2001 the civil parish had a population of 0. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2014 and merged with Steeple to form Steeple with Tyneham.
The village is situated northeast of Worbarrow Bay on the Jurassic Coast, about 3.7 miles (6.0 km) south of Wareham and about 9.9 miles (15.9 km) west of Swanage. The village lies in a secluded east–west valley between two ridges of the Purbeck Hills. To the north is the main ridge with Povington Hill (191 m; 627 ft) and its highest point, Ridgeway Hill (199 m; 653 ft). To the south is the ridge above Gad Cliff that runs from the headland of Worbarrow Tout in the west to the knoll of Tyneham Cap (167 m; 548 ft) in the east.
Tyneham is only accessible when the Lulworth Ranges are open to the public. The military firing ranges are owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and are part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School. Safety warnings about explosives and unexploded shells are posted at Mupe Bay by the MoD: visitors are advised to keep to official footpaths and observe local site notices because tanks and armoured vehicles are used in this area.
The parish includes evidence of occupation dating back to Iron Age Britain; there are more than 30 barrows in the area, although most have been damaged by shelling. Proof of Roman occupation has also been found in the valley around Tyneham and there were salt-boiling, shale-turning and Purbeck Marble industries at Worbarrow Bay. South of the chalk ridge are remains of a medieval settlement and strip fields.
It seems that it was once the possession of Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William I of England. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Tigeham, meaning "goat enclosure". A century later, the village was known as Tiham and only in later times as Tyneham. The limestone church of St Mary dates from at least the 15th century, and Tyneham House was built by Henry Williams between 1563 and 1583.
In 1683 Nathaniel Bond (1634–1707) of Lutton acquired Tyneham from the Williams family. He also bought Creech Grange in 1691 and the family still hold their Purbeck estates. Tyneham school was established by the Reverend Nathaniel Bond (1804–89) in 1860. It was later declared as property of the rectory and was closed in 1932 due to lack of pupils.
The village and 7,500 acres (30 km2) of surrounding heathland and chalk downland around the Purbeck Hills were requisitioned just before Christmas 1943 by the then War Office (now MoD) for use as firing ranges for training troops. 225 people were displaced, the last person leaving a notice on the church door:
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.