The most credible cause for the desertion of Welei, which disappears from historical records at around the time of 1348/9 is that it became another victim of the Black Death which was scything it's way through the population of the country at that time. Nearby Hitchin and Codicote were well documented as being decimated by the plague, and prompted a BBC documentary "Christina - a Medieval Life" which focussed on life and death in Codicote.
Although history suggests that plague victims were buried normally in consecrated ground, this is unlikely to be the case at Welei. The locals were a) renowned as pagan worshippers and b) the nearest consecrated ground was a good way off. It is unlikely that locals, who were overtaken by grief and debilitating illness, would have had the desire or strength to cart the corpses of their families and neighbours to Ippollitts or Hitchin for interment. Easier by far to bury them nearby in the adjacent field 'Wayley Close'
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