Layers of early morning mist in the Wylye Valley, Wiltshire, viewed from Cotley Hill near Heytesbury

Key facts

OS grid ref: ST925426
Postcode: BA12
Post town:  Warminster
What3words: ///essays.apples.flinch
Unitary Authority:  Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: South West Wiltshire

Heytesbury

Winding lanes, stone cottages and the meandering River Wylye, set the tone for Heytesbury and Tytherington. The landscape that surrounds them, in an Area of Outstanding Beauty (National Landscape) and close to Salisbury Plain is stunning – wild open fields and big skies.

The village is close to the A36, about three miles south east of Warminster, which is less than a 10-minute drive away, and has a train station. The market town of Shaftesbury is a half-hour drive away.

There’s a school, Heytesbury CE Primary, a GP surgery, a village hall, bus stop and two pubs – The Red Lion and The Angel Inn.

The parish includes the pretty, smaller settlement of Tytherington.

The Parish is also home to the brooding ghost village of Imber. In 1943, all of the villagers were forced to leave their homes so the village could be used as a WWII training area for American troops preparing for the invasion of Europe.

They were given just 47 days’ notice and nowhere to go – but the War Office promised they would be allowed to return. They never were. The village remains abandoned today and under the control of the MoD. The church though is still maintained and open for worship on the Saturday closest to St Giles’s day each year. That open day for worship continues to this day.

History

Chalk downland north of the village has prehistoric earthworks and there are Iron Age hillforts at Scratchbury Camp and Knook Castle.

The Domesday Book recorded a small settlement of eight households at Hestrebe, with a church.

The church of St. James at Tytherington was founded in the early 12th Century with walls that are are three feet thick. The church was restored in 1891, but in essence has changed very little since the 12th Century.

The 18th Century Blind House still exists today. Basically a lock-up with a wooden bench inside, an oak door and a grill that could be closed to plunge the victim into darkness.

The other notable building in the village is the Hospital of St. John, originally known as the Almshouses.

Walking and cycling

The only time you can walk around Imber is a couple of times each year on the MoD open days.

But the area around Heytesbury is stunning, and this is a 3½ mile circular walk from the Wiltshire Walks website.

Explore our
Patch

It’s safe to say that we live in one of most beautiful places in the British Isles, with everything from the culture and heritage of a city and the buzz of a market town, right down to the quietest rural villages. Each area has its own unique charm, so explore our patch to uncover where is perfect for you.