Category: Imber: Gleanings

Treasure Hunt At St. Giles Church, Imber, For Young People

Monday 23rd December 2024

From the Facebook page of St. Giles Church, Imber:

We have just heard that one of our volunteers will be running a Treasure Hunt at St. Giles on 30th and 31st December only. It will only be for young people and prizes will be chocolates. Why not bring your youngsters along to enjoy of hunting treasure on 30th and 31st December 2024.

www.facebook.com/imberchurch

Imber And St. Giles Church Open 28th December 2024 To 1st January 2025 Inclusive

Tuesday 17th December 2024

From the Facebook page of St. Giles Church, Imber:

Imber and St. Giles Church will be open to visitors from Saturday 28th December 2024 through to Wednesday 1st January 2025 inclusive. St Giles Church will be open between 1100hrs (11am) and 1600hrs (4pm) daily.

On the post-Christmas open days and all other open days there will be free and unrestricted access to Imber and the church via Warminster, Gore Cross and Bratton with free car parking in the village. The road from Heytesbury (American Road) will remain closed due to its poor condition.

IN THE EVENT OF BAD WEATHER it may be necessary for the MoD and/or the organisers of the St. Giles Church open days to restrict or deny access to Imber for safety reasons.

www.facebook.com/imberchurch

Two Free Exhibitions At The Athenaeum, Warminster

Saturday 17th August 2024

Two free exhibitions are being held at the Athenaeum, Warminster, to coincide with Imberbus day.

The small, isolated Imber village or “the lost village’ located on Salisbury Plain was once home to a few hundred villagers – now little else but the church, a couple of cottages and a vicarage remain. In 1943, residents were forced out of their homes with 41 days’ notice.

“𝐈𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 – 𝐀 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭’ shows a selection of the historical maps and information from the archives. Alongside, personal family memories through photography. It is respectfully dedicated to the families and relatives of the people of Imber.

“𝐈𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐬 – 𝐀 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭’ explores the people and history of the Imber Bus event. Showcasing a selection of photographs taken since 2009. Both exhibitions are open to the public from 16th to 23rd August (Monday to Friday 10.30am to 1pm. Saturday 10.30am to 4pm. Closed Sunday).

Jennifer Arthur, Athenaeum Trustee, who curated the exhibitions, said: “Last year, I rode the buses across the Salisbury Plains and it was such a wonderful day. Having grown up in London, the old Route Masters brought back so many childhood memories.

“However, there is a bittersweet feeling around this event. Imber Village itself, the yearning to return home is a sentiment many of us can relate to and is still a very controversial subject for many local people. I really wanted to highlight that Imber once was a lovely Wiltshire community. To really put some faces and stories behind the ghost village. To remind us all that it still is very much remembered and loved.”

Warminster Library is also hosting an exhibition featuring cartoons of Imberbus and the places it serves from Monday 12th August to Saturday 24th August.

On Saturday 17th August up to 40 old and new Routemaster buses, (plus a few guest vehicles) will operate from Warminster to Imber and other points on Salisbury Plain. As with previous years, buses will be running from outside Warminster railway station.

For more information on Imberbus 2024 visit: imberbus.org/

For more information about The Athenaeum Warminster visit: theath.co.uk/

Bratton Silver Band Played At Imber On Imberbus Running Day

Saturday 17th August 2024

From the Facebook page of Bratton Silver Band:

What a fantastic day playing at the lost village of Imber at Imberbus day!

A steady stream of appreciative audiences throughout the day listening to a variety of music in the sun.

Easter 2024 Opening Of Routes To Imber

Thursday 28th March 2024

From the HQ Salisbury Plain Training Area page:

Imber Opening

1800hrs Friday 29 March to 0800hrs Tuesday 2 April 2024

Due to recent weather conditions, we have been leaving it until the last safe moment to confirm the opening of the routes leading to Imber Village this Easter. At present, the routes as displayed on the map in the link below will be open during the times shown above. These are the usual routes from Harman Lines in Warminster to Gore Cross, and Bratton to the Imber Road. Due to the state of the track, the route from Heytesbury to Imber will remain closed.

However, because of this morning’s rain, we may have to close the routes at short notice. Where, and if possible, this detail will be published on this page, but if necessary, the barriers will be closed.

We apologise for any inconvenience; there has been live firing in that area and a road condition survey has only just been carried out. Drivers should be aware that there are currently patches of standing water, trafficable by most vehicles (we wouldn’t recommend bringing your Lamborghinis, though!). However, everyone enters the Training Area at their own risk, and must stick to the prescribed routes.

Please take care when using the roads/tracks. Pass oncoming traffic slowly and carefully, and where possible, use passing places. Keep off verges, as these are waterlogged and will cause a hazard when re-joining the road. Finally, don’t park on the roads restricting the flow of 2-way traffic (adjacent to the tank targets, etc).

Enjoy, and stay safe.

Link to Google Maps:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit…

Possible Closure Of Access To Imber Over Easter 2024

Thursday 28th March 2024

Possible Closure Of Access To Imber Over Easter 2024

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is responsible for access and safety on the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA). We have been advised that we should inform anybody wanting to visit Imber and St Giles Church on the Easter weekend open days that there is a possibility Imber and, hence, St Giles will be closed to visitors for the Easter weekend. At present Imber and St Giles will be open between Saturday 30th March and Monday 1st April inclusive as planned, but heavy rain week commencing 25th March could alter the situation.

Please go to Our Web Site Here (https://www.imberchurch.org.uk/closure.html) for Full Details There is information at the link regarding a road closure. Please keep looking back at the page for further information as it unfolds over the coming days.

EASTER 2024 OPEN DAYS

EASTER OPEN DAYS A reminder to all who are planning to visit Imber and St Giles Church over the Easter weekend.

PLEASE SEE ABOVE REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY OF THERE BEING NO ACCESS TO IMBER OR ST GILES CHURCH ON EASTER WEEKEND

At present St Giles will be open as follows:

Saturday 30th March until Easter Monday 1st April inclusive.

Opening hours each day will be 1100hrs (11am) until 1600hrs (4pm)

We are pleased to say that we are expecting the famous annual Easter Egg Hunt to run on each of the open days.

Please note that these are the only days on which there will be public access to Imber Village. Access will be denied on other dates due to Military activity. There will be NO ACCESS to Imber or St Giles Church on Good Friday 29th March.

Imber – England’s Most Haunted Village

Friday 8th March 2024

On X (Twitter) The Folk Horror Consortium @folkhorrorforum have tweeted:

IMBER- England’s most haunted village by unanimous agreement is the abandoned village of Imber. Abandoned villages frequently attract weirdos of all kinds. Imber was and is no different. From academics with spectrographs to practitioners of ineffable nocturnal practices.

Avoid

Forthcoming Exhibition Of Imber Photographs At Heytesbury Church

Wednesday 9th August 2023

Vanessa Sturmey writes:

This December is the 80th anniversary of the evacuation of the residents of Imber, just a few days before Christmas 1943, with very little notice.

I am working with Tina Sitwell and others to hold a photo exhibition and display other stories and memories of Imber, in Heytesbury Church, during October 2023.

Would you know anyone who would like to exhibit ?

Are there any descendants who would like to attend and tell their family stories?

Please contact
Vanessa sturmey – vsturmey@hotmail.co.uk
Tina Sitwell – clsitwell@gmail.com