Wharram Percy is a deserted village a few miles away from Thixendale. It can be reached by road, but is also a popular walk destination from Thixendale.
Some of the earliest settlers at Wharram Percy were Neolithic farmers; they had cleared the forest around the valley by 3500 BC. They probably used stone axes imported from the Lake District. While the exact site of their village is unknown they surely visited the great Neolithic ceremonial enclosure at Duggleby Howe about 3 miles from Wharram. This — the second largest such circle enclosure in England — must have been a major centre of ritual life. During the Bronze Age — 2300 – 700 BC — and in the Iron Age — 700 – 500 BC — large boundary banks were constructed at Wharram which in the middle ages served also served as boundaries of the village.
The earliest known houses at Wharram were in the Iron Age — about 100 BC — and they were the houses of a local chief defended by a large ditch. A hollow way provided easy access to water in the valley. There was probably a village on the plateau in the valley between the present cottages and St. Martin’s church. The remains of a round house and an unusual crouch burial have been found.