The medieval village of Birkby near Darlington was abandoned after the Black Death, with its ruins and church still visible today
Birkby: A Historical Overview
Birkby, a quiet rural parish beside the River Wiske, was once a thriving settlement. It supported a community of around 60 people with farms, homes, and fishponds.
Now protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, the site offers insight into how ordinary medieval villagers lived, worked, and then disappeared.
Although no houses stand on the site today, the outlines of Birkby’s former village are clearly visible.
Village Layout and Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Homes | Up to 16 medieval homes with crofts and garden plots |
| Field Barn | Suggested by shapes in the ground |
| Moated Enclosure | Striking feature near the River Wiske, dug around 700 years ago |
| Fishponds | Part of the moated system |
Rectangular platforms on either side of Birkby Lane mark the positions of homes. Other shapes suggest a field barn and a circular stack for drying harvested grain.
Between 1250 and 1350, thousands of moats were created across England. They were symbols of status and offered limited protection during unrest.
Life in Medieval Birkby
The people of medieval Birkby lived in simple timber-framed houses. These houses had wattle-and-daub walls and thick thatched roofs.
The surrounding landscape provided most materials for construction. Reeds were used for thatching, while willow formed the framework of the walls.
Life revolved around the land, and survival depended on maintaining fertile soil and reliable harvests.
Surviving Structures
At the northern edge of the ancient village stand its last surviving buildings: St Peter’s Church and the former manor house, later used as the rectory.
Fragments of a Saxon cross shaft and pieces of Norman stone columns suggest worship has taken place on this site for over 1,000 years.
By the late 18th century, the medieval church had fallen into severe disrepair. Records from 1773 describe it as dangerous and unusable.
The building was dismantled and replaced in 1776 with a brick church made from local clay. Victorian alterations in 1872 added Gothic features to the structure.
Historical Significance
The church’s two bells are among Birkby’s oldest surviving objects. Cast in York between 1454 and 1480, they pre-date the village’s abandonment.
One bell is dedicated to St Peter, and the other to St Helen, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine.
Birkby’s decline came quickly. By the early 14th century, the village was struggling due to exhausted soil, a cooling climate, and repeated Scottish raids.
The final blow came with the Black Death, which killed as many as 80 percent of those who contracted the plague.
Survivors left in search of healthier land, leading to Birkby’s abandonment.
Legacy of Birkby
Today, what remains is a landscape virtually untouched since the Middle Ages. Birkby appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, recorded as Bretebi.
Its name may refer to early British settlers, an individual called Bretar, or the birch trees that still grow nearby.
For historians, the site’s preservation makes it remarkable. The houses, gardens, ditches, and fields are still visible exactly where they were laid out hundreds of years ago.
