Hungry Bently was mentioned in the
Domesday Book as belonging to
Henry de Ferrers and was worth eleven shillings Wulfgeat and Ulfkil have one
carucates of land to the geld. There is land for 1 plough. It is waste. TRE worth 20s now 11s. Ralph holds it. In 1801 the settlement had about 80 residents living in ten dwellings. Edward Wilmot had purchased the
manor from the Bentley family. By 1857, the whole of the manor had been transferred to Sir Sacheveral Wilmot, although it was noted that a small portion of land was excluded. That land was owned by the Rev. German Buckston of
Bradbourne Hall. This land known as Boothey Hay Flats had been rented in 1686 for 1000 years at ten pounds a year. This rent had been converted to a freehold in 1829 for the payment of £67 and ten shillings. In 1872 the village was included in a description of the parish of
Longford. The "liberty" of Hungry Bentley was said to be in the possession of
Lord Vernon and it was noted that there "used to be a chapel here". The reason for the village's depopulation is unknown, but the poor agriculture, a move away from arable farming, a change in climate and the
black death have been all been considered as possible reasons. The site was identified by the County of Derbyshire in 1956 as a scheduled monument. It is now scheduled as of national importance (Ref No. 29935). The similar village of
Wharram Percy in Yorkshire is now thought to have been abandoned for economic reasons. ==Today==