Wharram Percy/Lost Villages
Aus ZUM-Unterrichten
We are not exactly sure why Wharram Percy was abandoned but the most likely reason was the Black Death (Bubonic Plague). Hundreds of villages throughout England were so badly affected by the Black Death between 1348 and 1350 that either their entire population was wiped out or the few remaining survivors fled. As a result villages throughout England fell into decay.
There were no accurate censuses in the Medieval period to count the population of England but in 1330 it was thought to be 3 million. In 1351 it was thought to be only 1.7 million. Nearly half the population had died between 1348 and 1351.
