Discover The 'Lost' Village Of Imber, & Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire...
Imber Village Open Days 2026/2027
around 16,000 people visit Imber village each year
Annual Service of Remembrance 2026
St Giles Church, Imber,
The annual Service of remembrance will be held at St Giles Church on Saturday 7th November
The Service will begin at 1050 hours (10.50am) to allow for the sounding of the Last Post at 1100 hours (11am).
Those attending the service are to assemble at Vedette Post No 2 Warminster, for the 1025 hours onward escorted convoy to Imber. NB. Please do not join the convoy of cars assembled to the right of the barrier. This is for clergy, choir, brass ensemble, plus representatives of the Royal British Legion. This will leave at 1010 hours.
IMPORTANT: Anybody arriving at VP2 after 1025hrs (10.25am) will not be allowed to travel on to Imber. All vehicles will be travelling in an escorted convoy.
Vedette Post No 2 is at the top of Sack Hill, Warminster. From Warminster, take Imber Road, passing the garrison church of St Giles on the left. You will then pass Waterloo Lines, also on the left. For those with sat-navs, the post-code for Waterloo Lines is BA12 ODT. Drive straight on, passing the tank washdown on the right, until you reach the barrier at VP2. This will be stewarded by a member of the military staff.
The annual Service of remembrance will be held at St Giles Church on Saturday 7th November
The Service will begin at 1050 hours (10.50am) to allow for the sounding of the Last Post at 1100 hours (11am).
Those attending the service are to assemble at Vedette Post No 2 Warminster, for the 1025 hours onward escorted convoy to Imber. NB. Please do not join the convoy of cars assembled to the right of the barrier. This is for clergy, choir, brass ensemble, plus representatives of the Royal British Legion. This will leave at 1010 hours.
IMPORTANT: Anybody arriving at VP2 after 1025hrs (10.25am) will not be allowed to travel on to Imber. All vehicles will be travelling in an escorted convoy.
Vedette Post No 2 is at the top of Sack Hill, Warminster. From Warminster, take Imber Road, passing the garrison church of St Giles on the left. You will then pass Waterloo Lines, also on the left. For those with sat-navs, the post-code for Waterloo Lines is BA12 ODT. Drive straight on, passing the tank washdown on the right, until you reach the barrier at VP2. This will be stewarded by a member of the military staff.
Annual Festival of Carols
The annual Festival of Carols will be held on Saturday 12th December at 1430hrs (2.30pm).
ENTRY WILL BE BY TICKET ONLY
The Bratton Silver Band and Westbury Choral are expected to be in attendance. There will be audience participation in the singing of well known carols.
This event will, as usual, be ticketed. Tickets cost £10 each. Virtual tickets will be issued and will be restricted to FOUR tickets per application.
Access to Imber will be via Warminster (Vedette post 2 - for location go here) and Gore Cross A360 (Vedette post 3) only.
N.B. BOX OFFICE OPENS 1ST NOVEMBER. PLEASE DO NOT APPLY BEFORE THIS DATE.
Applications received before 1st November will not be honoured and will be ignored.
Full details of payment and access will be sent to successful applicants.
Please apply to: [email protected] only on or after 1st November
Please Note: Access to Imber and St Giles Church will only be allowed to persons holding a valid ticket. No ticket - No access !
ENTRY WILL BE BY TICKET ONLY
The Bratton Silver Band and Westbury Choral are expected to be in attendance. There will be audience participation in the singing of well known carols.
This event will, as usual, be ticketed. Tickets cost £10 each. Virtual tickets will be issued and will be restricted to FOUR tickets per application.
Access to Imber will be via Warminster (Vedette post 2 - for location go here) and Gore Cross A360 (Vedette post 3) only.
N.B. BOX OFFICE OPENS 1ST NOVEMBER. PLEASE DO NOT APPLY BEFORE THIS DATE.
Applications received before 1st November will not be honoured and will be ignored.
Full details of payment and access will be sent to successful applicants.
Please apply to: [email protected] only on or after 1st November
Please Note: Access to Imber and St Giles Church will only be allowed to persons holding a valid ticket. No ticket - No access !
Christmas/New Year
St Giles Church will be open to visitors over the New Year
The church will be open on Thursday 31st December from 1100hrs (11am) to 1600hrs (4pm) and on Friday 1st January 2027 from 1100hrs (11am) to 1600hrs (4pm)
NOTE: Access roads to Imber will only be open from 0800hrs (8am) 31st December to 1800hrs (6pm) on 1st January
The church will be open on Thursday 31st December from 1100hrs (11am) to 1600hrs (4pm) and on Friday 1st January 2027 from 1100hrs (11am) to 1600hrs (4pm)
NOTE: Access roads to Imber will only be open from 0800hrs (8am) 31st December to 1800hrs (6pm) on 1st January
map/plan of Imber village
The latest access information for roads through Imber can be confirmed nearer the time on the SPTA Walks Line: (01980) 674763.
Imber.org.uk does not manage the village and advises visitors to adhere to all safety advice when there.
Imber.org.uk does not manage the village and advises visitors to adhere to all safety advice when there.
Charlie White and John Cruse
Old photographs have been coloured by Imber.org.uk to show the villagers and village as they were, full of life, not just a museum piece. Imber.org.uk pays tribute to the remarkable people who lived in the 'lost' village of Imber, on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, and who were never allowed to return, as well as to those who now run the surviving church of Imber, St Giles, and to those who also continue to keep the story alive in print.
Given nowhere else to go to Imber's villagers were 'liberated' of their homes in 1943, with just 47 days notice, to make way for American troops to train for the liberation of Europe during World War II. With foresight the Ministry of Defence, as it is now called, had before the war bought up the farms and even much of the village itself to make Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire the largest military training ground in the United Kingdom. Thus the villagers were 'just' tenants, so were easily made to vacate their homes and livelihoods, but as they understood it only until the war ended. Shortly before the war began council houses, which can still be seen there, were built at Imber, a sure sign that neither the council nor the villagers, maybe not even the MOD (as it is called today), expected the village to be permanently taken over. However Salisbury Plain remains, even today, too useful a training ground, so the villagers were never allowed back. Even for visitors the road through Imber village is rarely open, even less often now that the MOD is concerned about the safety of visitors who ignore the warning signs not to, and enter at risk old and new buildings now just, apart from the church, used for urban warfare training.
Photographs here on Imber.org.uk show what the village looked like, more of its history, and offer an online tour of Imber. The website is published and funded by a resident of the local town of Warminster.
Given nowhere else to go to Imber's villagers were 'liberated' of their homes in 1943, with just 47 days notice, to make way for American troops to train for the liberation of Europe during World War II. With foresight the Ministry of Defence, as it is now called, had before the war bought up the farms and even much of the village itself to make Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire the largest military training ground in the United Kingdom. Thus the villagers were 'just' tenants, so were easily made to vacate their homes and livelihoods, but as they understood it only until the war ended. Shortly before the war began council houses, which can still be seen there, were built at Imber, a sure sign that neither the council nor the villagers, maybe not even the MOD (as it is called today), expected the village to be permanently taken over. However Salisbury Plain remains, even today, too useful a training ground, so the villagers were never allowed back. Even for visitors the road through Imber village is rarely open, even less often now that the MOD is concerned about the safety of visitors who ignore the warning signs not to, and enter at risk old and new buildings now just, apart from the church, used for urban warfare training.
Photographs here on Imber.org.uk show what the village looked like, more of its history, and offer an online tour of Imber. The website is published and funded by a resident of the local town of Warminster.
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Imber.org.uk does not manage the village and advises visitors to adhere to all safety advice when there.
Photographs are copyright, but see contact information for re-use restrictions.
Photographs are copyright, but see contact information for re-use restrictions.
By the same author:
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