Wartime era meant villagers who were forced to abandon their homes, they left a haunting note behind – and never retuned
An abandoned Dorset village is like nowhere else in Britain, a bygone relic yet not forgotten. Devastating circumstances led to the residents being forced to leave their much-loved homes decades ago.
Nestled on Dorset’s stunning Jurassic Coast, visiting Tyneham village is like stepping back in time. You get a glimpse into the lives of the villagers who were forced to abandon the village in the Second World War.
It was 1943 when the bustling community of Tyneham would see their lives change forever. It was the middle of World War Two as the British military requisitioned the village for training purposes.
This meant devastated villagers were given a month’s notice to evacuate their homes where many families had lived for generations. The government of the time claimed Tyneham village and the surrounding land to use as a base to train the Allied forces, as it is next to the Lulworth firing range.
Villagers believed they were abandoning their homes for the greater good of the country and thought they would return once the war was over.
A note was pinned to the church door, it read: “Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes where many of us have lived for generations, to help win the war to keep men free. We will return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.”
Sadly though, the villagers could never come back to their homes in Tyneham as even when World War Two ended, the village and surrounding land became a training ground for military exercises
Now the village, still frozen in time after nearly 80 years, is a ‘thought-provoking and interesting’ tourist attraction. It opens at certain times of the year and visitors describe its ‘fascinating insights into the lives of residents’. When the village isn’t open to the public, the gates blocking access are locked at disk every evening.
One visitor’s review on TripAdvisor reads: “This deserted village has such an interesting history. The boards within the church detailing the villagers fight to be allowed to return to the village and the current position are very moving.”
Another TripAdvisor review described ‘a wonderful place – very atmospheric and sad but in a way that keeps drawing you back to visit’.
The last resident of Tyneham, Peter Wellman died aged 100 in April this year – the centenarian made a final visit to the village in 2024, to see the place where he was born and brought up.
In 2024, on his last visit to Tyneham, Peter remembered his childhood days, he told the Dorset Echo at the time: “We had no electricity, no mains gas and no running water – we had to pump that from near the church.
“I remember going to the beach and fishing and we often had mackerel. We were happy until we got moved out.”
Tyneham village is situated within the Isle of Purbeck, however, it’s not actually an island but a peninsula bordered by the English Channel in the county of Dorset.