One of the most interesting of all antiquities from the past are DMV's (Deserted Medieval Village) and Wainfleet like many other towns in the area, has its own fine example.The DMV in Wainfleet is by no means unique, as Lincolnshire has in the region of 250, but it is only one of a handful that can be found in the fens, making it fascinating in its own right.

The Barkham Arms area of the deserted medieval village   click picture to enlarge

A different angle of the same area

The first questions that usually arise when discussing DMV sites are who actually lived there and why was it abandoned? The general reason given to the demise of these sites is attributed to the changes of land usage at the start of the 14th century.It became increasingly more profitable for the landowners to enclose their fields for sheep farming. This practice left the tenants deprived of the land that they would use for their own needs and as a result they had to seek new pastures that would supply them with the commodities needed for everyday living.Other factors such as soil exhaustion and disease are also widely regarded to have contributed to their decline.The Black Death (1349-1351) could also have been a contributing factor for some villages, but it is not thought that this was the reason for any full scale abandonment.

The speed at which the abandoning of these villages took place is also difficult to determine, some may have been as quick as a decade while others may have taken as long as a century. Wainfleets DMV may have another important aspect to make its demise more unique.The rapidly receding sea level meant that the villages location was getting further away from the important saltpans and the coastline with it busy port.Another possible reason for Wainfleets DMV abandonment may have been its postion being susceptible to flooding.

Little Archeological study has been done on the site, but Roman and Saxon pottery has been turned up in small amounts found by field walkers.The above aerial photographs taken in 1967 (before the fields were ploughed) shows the full extent of the site. Hopefully in time we will get to learn more about this site and its inhabitants.