Imber  Imber is an uninhabited village in part of the British Army's training grounds on the Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. It is situated in an isolated area of the Plain, about west of the A360 road between Tilshead and West Lavington. The entire civilian population was evicted in 1943 to provide an exercise area for American troops preparing for the invasion of Europe during the Second World War. After the war, villagers were not allowed to return to their homes. The village, which is now part of the civil parish of Heytesbury, remains under the control of the Ministry of Defence despite several attempts by former residents to return. Non-military access is limited to several open days a year. Settlement in the area began before the period of Roman rule, in the British Iron Age or earlier. Several ancient trackways lead to and from the village. The first documentary evidence of Imber's existence comes from Saxon times, with a mention of the village in 967. Imber is also recorded in the Domesday Book, at which time it is believed to have had a population of around fifty. The village's church of St Giles dates from the 13th century and has notable wall-paintings from the 15th. By the 14th century the population of the village had risen to around 250, where it is believed to have remained until the 19th century. Population peaked at 440 as recorded in the census of 1851, declining to around 150 by the time of Imber's abandonment. Imber was always an isolated community, Salisbury Plain being relatively sparsely populated, and most of its residents were employed in agriculture or work that directly depended on it. The village had an elongated form like a linear village, and its main street followed the course of a stream known as Imber Dock. The only building to survive in a reasonable condition is the church; the rest became derelict or were demolished by the Army. In 1943 there was also a Baptist chapel (built in 1839, demolished in late 1970s), a post office, and a pub called the "Bell Inn", which still stands; as does the manor house, Imber Court. Also still standing are a farmhouse, farm cottages, schoolroom and four "council house" type blocks built in 1938. In the late 19th century the War Office began buying land on Salisbury Plain, primarily to the east of Imber, and using it for manœuvres.