diff --git a/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php b/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php
index c12ba899f..ed827fca2 100644
--- a/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php
+++ b/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use SilverStripe\Core\Convert;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use LogicException;
 use SilverStripe\Model\ModelData;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 
 /**
  * @see GridField
@@ -228,9 +229,11 @@ class GridFieldDataColumns extends AbstractGridFieldComponent implements GridFie
      * @param ModelData $record
      * @param string $columnName
      * @return string|null - returns null if it could not found a value
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     protected function getValueFromRelation($record, $columnName)
     {
+        Deprecation::notice('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         $fieldNameParts = explode('.', $columnName ?? '');
         $tmpItem = clone($record);
         for ($idx = 0; $idx < sizeof($fieldNameParts ?? []); $idx++) {
diff --git a/src/Model/ModelData.php b/src/Model/ModelData.php
index 04d5a1fc0..9ae5cde65 100644
--- a/src/Model/ModelData.php
+++ b/src/Model/ModelData.php
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ use SilverStripe\Core\Injector\Injectable;
 use SilverStripe\Core\Injector\Injector;
 use SilverStripe\Dev\Debug;
 use SilverStripe\Core\ArrayLib;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 use SilverStripe\Model\List\ArrayList;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBHTMLText;
@@ -385,9 +386,12 @@ class ModelData
 
     /**
      * Get the class name a field on this object will be casted to.
+     *
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public function castingClass(string $field): string
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         // Strip arguments
         $spec = $this->castingHelper($field);
         return trim(strtok($spec ?? '', '(') ?? '');
@@ -397,9 +401,11 @@ class ModelData
      * Return the string-format type for the given field.
      *
      * @return string 'xml'|'raw'
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public function escapeTypeForField(string $field): string
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         $class = $this->castingClass($field) ?: $this->config()->get('default_cast');
 
         /** @var DBField $type */
@@ -445,9 +451,11 @@ class ModelData
      * @param string $fieldName Name of field
      * @param array $arguments List of optional arguments given
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be made private
      */
     protected function objCacheName($fieldName, $arguments)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be made private');
         return $arguments
             ? $fieldName . ":" . var_export($arguments, true)
             : $fieldName;
@@ -506,6 +514,9 @@ class ModelData
         bool $cache = false,
         ?string $cacheName = null
     ): ?object {
+        if ($cacheName !== null) {
+            Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'The $cacheName parameter has been deprecated and will be removed');
+        }
         $hasObj = false;
         if (!$cacheName && $cache) {
             $cacheName = $this->objCacheName($fieldName, $arguments);
@@ -569,9 +580,11 @@ class ModelData
      * without re-running the method.
      *
      * @return Object|DBField
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 use obj() instead
      */
     public function cachedCall(string $fieldName, array $arguments = [], ?string $cacheName = null): object
     {
+        Deprecation::notice('5.4.0', 'Use obj() instead');
         return $this->obj($fieldName, $arguments, true, $cacheName);
     }
 
@@ -591,9 +604,12 @@ class ModelData
     /**
      * Get the string value of a field on this object that has been suitable escaped to be inserted directly into a
      * template.
+     *
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function XML_val(string $field, array $arguments = [], bool $cache = false): string
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         $result = $this->obj($field, $arguments, $cache);
         if (!$result) {
             return '';
@@ -606,9 +622,11 @@ class ModelData
      * Get an array of XML-escaped values by field name
      *
      * @param array $fields an array of field names
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function getXMLValues(array $fields): array
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         $result = [];
 
         foreach ($fields as $field) {
diff --git a/src/View/SSTemplateParser.peg b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.peg
index b893ef4ae..a17a308f3 100644
--- a/src/View/SSTemplateParser.peg
+++ b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.peg
@@ -948,7 +948,7 @@ class SSTemplateParser extends Parser implements TemplateParser
         $arguments = $res['arguments'];
 
         // Note: 'type' here is important to disable subTemplates in SSViewer::getSubtemplateFor()
-        $res['php'] = '$val .= \\SilverStripe\\View\\SSViewer::execute_template([["type" => "Includes", '.$template.'], '.$template.'], $scope->getItem(), [' .
+        $res['php'] = '$val .= \\SilverStripe\\View\\SSViewer::execute_template([["type" => "Includes", '.$template.'], '.$template.'], $scope->getCurrentItem(), [' .
             implode(',', $arguments)."], \$scope, true);\n";
 
         if ($this->includeDebuggingComments) { // Add include filename comments on dev sites
diff --git a/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php
index 4e4842489..2b7108260 100644
--- a/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php
+++ b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php
@@ -3897,7 +3897,7 @@ class SSTemplateParser extends Parser implements TemplateParser
         $arguments = $res['arguments'];
 
         // Note: 'type' here is important to disable subTemplates in SSViewer::getSubtemplateFor()
-        $res['php'] = '$val .= \\SilverStripe\\View\\SSViewer::execute_template([["type" => "Includes", '.$template.'], '.$template.'], $scope->getItem(), [' .
+        $res['php'] = '$val .= \\SilverStripe\\View\\SSViewer::execute_template([["type" => "Includes", '.$template.'], '.$template.'], $scope->getCurrentItem(), [' .
             implode(',', $arguments)."], \$scope, true);\n";
 
         if ($this->includeDebuggingComments) { // Add include filename comments on dev sites
diff --git a/src/View/SSViewer.php b/src/View/SSViewer.php
index 63f0edc34..e276b7fe2 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer.php
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBHTMLText;
 use SilverStripe\Security\Permission;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use SilverStripe\Model\ModelData;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 
 /**
  * Parses a template file with an *.ss file extension.
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      *
      * @config
      * @var string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine.global_key
      */
     private static $global_key = '$CurrentReadingMode, $CurrentUser.ID';
 
@@ -135,6 +137,7 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * List of items being processed
      *
      * @var array
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine
      */
     protected static $topLevel = [];
 
@@ -142,6 +145,7 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * List of templates to select from
      *
      * @var array
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine
      */
     protected $templates = null;
 
@@ -149,6 +153,7 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Absolute path to chosen template file
      *
      * @var string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine
      */
     protected $chosen = null;
 
@@ -156,6 +161,7 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Templates to use when looking up 'Layout' or 'Content'
      *
      * @var array
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine
      */
     protected $subTemplates = [];
 
@@ -166,11 +172,13 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
 
     /**
      * @var TemplateParser
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine
      */
     protected $parser;
 
     /**
      * @var CacheInterface
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be moved to SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine
      */
     protected $partialCacheStore = null;
 
@@ -186,6 +194,7 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
     public function __construct($templates, TemplateParser $parser = null)
     {
         if ($parser) {
+            Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'The $parser parameter is deprecated and will be removed');
             $this->setParser($parser);
         }
 
@@ -208,9 +217,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
 
     /**
      * Triggered early in the request when someone requests a flush.
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::flush()
      */
     public static function flush()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::flush()');
         SSViewer::flush_template_cache(true);
         SSViewer::flush_cacheblock_cache(true);
     }
@@ -221,9 +232,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * @param string $content The template content
      * @param bool|void $cacheTemplate Whether or not to cache the template from string
      * @return SSViewer
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::renderString()
      */
     public static function fromString($content, $cacheTemplate = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::renderString()');
         $viewer = SSViewer_FromString::create($content);
         if ($cacheTemplate !== null) {
             $viewer->setCacheTemplate($cacheTemplate);
@@ -326,9 +339,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Get the current item being processed
      *
      * @return ModelData
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public static function topLevel()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         if (SSViewer::$topLevel) {
             return SSViewer::$topLevel[sizeof(SSViewer::$topLevel)-1];
         }
@@ -386,9 +401,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
 
     /**
      * @param string|array $templates
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::setTemplate()
      */
     public function setTemplate($templates)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::setTemplate()');
         $this->templates = $templates;
         $this->chosen = $this->chooseTemplate($templates);
         $this->subTemplates = [];
@@ -399,9 +416,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      *
      * @param array|string $templates
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public static function chooseTemplate($templates)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         return ThemeResourceLoader::inst()->findTemplate($templates, SSViewer::get_themes());
     }
 
@@ -409,9 +428,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Set the template parser that will be used in template generation
      *
      * @param TemplateParser $parser
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::setParser()
      */
     public function setParser(TemplateParser $parser)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::setParser()');
         $this->parser = $parser;
     }
 
@@ -419,9 +440,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Returns the parser that is set for template generation
      *
      * @return TemplateParser
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getParser()
      */
     public function getParser()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getParser()');
         if (!$this->parser) {
             $this->setParser(Injector::inst()->get('SilverStripe\\View\\SSTemplateParser'));
         }
@@ -434,9 +457,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * @param array|string $templates
      *
      * @return bool
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::hasTemplate()
      */
     public static function hasTemplate($templates)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::hasTemplate()');
         return (bool)ThemeResourceLoader::inst()->findTemplate($templates, SSViewer::get_themes());
     }
 
@@ -453,9 +478,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
 
     /**
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function exists()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         return $this->chosen;
     }
 
@@ -463,9 +490,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * @param string $identifier A template name without '.ss' extension or path
      * @param string $type The template type, either "main", "Includes" or "Layout"
      * @return string Full system path to a template file
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public static function getTemplateFileByType($identifier, $type = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         return ThemeResourceLoader::inst()->findTemplate(['type' => $type, $identifier], SSViewer::get_themes());
     }
 
@@ -476,9 +505,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      *
      * @param bool $force Set this to true to force a re-flush. If left to false, flushing
      * may only be performed once a request.
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::flushTemplateCache()
      */
     public static function flush_template_cache($force = false)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::flushTemplateCache()');
         if (!SSViewer::$template_cache_flushed || $force) {
             $dir = dir(TEMP_PATH);
             while (false !== ($file = $dir->read())) {
@@ -497,9 +528,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      *
      * @param bool $force Set this to true to force a re-flush. If left to false, flushing
      * may only be performed once a request.
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::flushCacheBlockCache()
      */
     public static function flush_cacheblock_cache($force = false)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::flushCacheBlockCache()');
         if (!SSViewer::$cacheblock_cache_flushed || $force) {
             $cache = Injector::inst()->get(CacheInterface::class . '.cacheblock');
             $cache->clear();
@@ -513,9 +546,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Set the cache object to use when storing / retrieving partial cache blocks.
      *
      * @param CacheInterface $cache
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::setPartialCacheStore()
      */
     public function setPartialCacheStore($cache)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::setPartialCacheStore()');
         $this->partialCacheStore = $cache;
     }
 
@@ -523,9 +558,11 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * Get the cache object to use when storing / retrieving partial cache blocks.
      *
      * @return CacheInterface
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getPartialCacheStore()
      */
     public function getPartialCacheStore()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getPartialCacheStore()');
         if ($this->partialCacheStore) {
             return $this->partialCacheStore;
         }
@@ -553,11 +590,13 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      * @param ModelData $item The item to use as the root scope for the template
      * @param array $overlay Any variables to layer on top of the scope
      * @param array $underlay Any variables to layer underneath the scope
-     * @param ModelData $inheritedScope The current scope of a parent template including a sub-template
+     * @param SSViewer_Scope|null $inheritedScope The current scope of a parent template including a sub-template
      * @return string The result of executing the template
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::includeGeneratedTemplate()
      */
     protected function includeGeneratedTemplate($cacheFile, $item, $overlay, $underlay, $inheritedScope = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::includeGeneratedTemplate()');
         if (isset($_GET['showtemplate']) && $_GET['showtemplate'] && Permission::check('ADMIN')) {
             $lines = file($cacheFile ?? '');
             echo "<h2>Template: $cacheFile</h2>";
@@ -597,6 +636,9 @@ class SSViewer implements Flushable
      */
     public function process($item, $arguments = null, $inheritedScope = null)
     {
+        if ($inheritedScope !== null) {
+            Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'The $inheritedScope parameter is deprecated and will be removed');
+        }
         // Set hashlinks and temporarily modify global state
         $rewrite = $this->getRewriteHashLinks();
         $origRewriteDefault = static::getRewriteHashLinksDefault();
@@ -683,9 +725,11 @@ PHP;
      * @param string $subtemplate Sub-template to use
      *
      * @return array|null
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getSubtemplateFor()
      */
     protected function getSubtemplateFor($subtemplate)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getSubtemplateFor()');
         // Get explicit subtemplate name
         if (isset($this->subTemplates[$subtemplate])) {
             return $this->subTemplates[$subtemplate];
@@ -723,9 +767,14 @@ PHP;
      * @param bool $globalRequirements
      *
      * @return string Evaluated result
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::execute_template()
      */
     public static function execute_template($template, $data, $arguments = null, $scope = null, $globalRequirements = false)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment(
+            '5.4.0',
+            'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::execute_template()'
+        );
         $v = SSViewer::create($template);
 
         if ($globalRequirements) {
@@ -755,9 +804,11 @@ PHP;
      * @param bool $globalRequirements
      *
      * @return string Evaluated result
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::renderString()
      */
     public static function execute_string($content, $data, $arguments = null, $globalRequirements = false)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::renderString()');
         $v = SSViewer::fromString($content);
 
         if ($globalRequirements) {
@@ -782,9 +833,11 @@ PHP;
      * @param string $content The template contents
      * @param string $template The template file name
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::parseTemplateContent()
      */
     public function parseTemplateContent($content, $template = "")
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::parseTemplateContent()');
         return $this->getParser()->compileString(
             $content,
             $template,
@@ -797,18 +850,22 @@ PHP;
      * 'Content' & 'Layout', and will have to contain 'main'
      *
      * @return array
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function templates()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         return array_merge(['main' => $this->chosen], $this->subTemplates);
     }
 
     /**
      * @param string $type "Layout" or "main"
      * @param string $file Full system path to the template file
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function setTemplateFile($type, $file)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         if (!$type || $type == 'main') {
             $this->chosen = $file;
         } else {
@@ -823,17 +880,29 @@ PHP;
      * @param string $contentGeneratedSoFar The content of the template generated so far; it should contain
      * the DOCTYPE declaration.
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Use getBaseTag() instead
      */
     public static function get_base_tag($contentGeneratedSoFar)
+    {
+        Deprecation::notice('5.4.0', 'Use getBaseTag() instead');
+        // Is the document XHTML?
+        $isXhtml = preg_match('/<!DOCTYPE[^>]+xhtml/i', $contentGeneratedSoFar ?? '');
+        return static::getBaseTag($isXhtml);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Return an appropriate base tag for the given template.
+     * It will be closed on an XHTML document, and unclosed on an HTML document.
+     *
+     * @param bool $isXhtml Whether the DOCTYPE is xhtml or not.
+     */
+    public static function getBaseTag(bool $isXhtml = false): string
     {
         // Base href should always have a trailing slash
         $base = rtrim(Director::absoluteBaseURL(), '/') . '/';
-
-        // Is the document XHTML?
-        if (preg_match('/<!DOCTYPE[^>]+xhtml/i', $contentGeneratedSoFar ?? '')) {
+        if ($isXhtml) {
             return "<base href=\"$base\" />";
-        } else {
-            return "<base href=\"$base\"><!--[if lte IE 6]></base><![endif]-->";
         }
+        return "<base href=\"$base\"><!--[if lte IE 6]></base><![endif]-->";
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/View/SSViewer_DataPresenter.php b/src/View/SSViewer_DataPresenter.php
index 0729584a2..7bd55f948 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer_DataPresenter.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer_DataPresenter.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use InvalidArgumentException;
 use SilverStripe\Core\ClassInfo;
 use SilverStripe\Model\ModelData;
 use SilverStripe\Model\List\ArrayList;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
 
 /**
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
  * data that is scope-independant (like BaseURL), or type-specific data that is layered on top cross-cut like
  * (like $FirstLast etc).
  *
- * It's separate from SSViewer_Scope to keep that fairly complex code as clean as possible.
+ * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be merged into SilverStripe\View\SSViewer_Scope
  */
 class SSViewer_DataPresenter extends SSViewer_Scope
 {
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ class SSViewer_DataPresenter extends SSViewer_Scope
         array $underlay = null,
         SSViewer_Scope $inheritedScope = null
     ) {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be merged into ' . SSViewer_Scope::class, Deprecation::SCOPE_CLASS);
         parent::__construct($item, $inheritedScope);
 
         $this->overlay = $overlay ?: [];
diff --git a/src/View/SSViewer_FromString.php b/src/View/SSViewer_FromString.php
index c7712a9f2..9ec84dd57 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer_FromString.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer_FromString.php
@@ -4,9 +4,11 @@ namespace SilverStripe\View;
 
 use SilverStripe\Core\Config\Config;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 
 /**
  * Special SSViewer that will process a template passed as a string, rather than a filename.
+ * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::renderString()
  */
 class SSViewer_FromString extends SSViewer
 {
@@ -38,6 +40,11 @@ class SSViewer_FromString extends SSViewer
      */
     public function __construct($content, TemplateParser $parser = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment(
+            '5.4.0',
+            'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::renderString()',
+            Deprecation::SCOPE_CLASS
+        );
         if ($parser) {
             $this->setParser($parser);
         }
diff --git a/src/View/SSViewer_Scope.php b/src/View/SSViewer_Scope.php
index 928b7b4a3..915697be0 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer_Scope.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer_Scope.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use ArrayIterator;
 use Countable;
 use Iterator;
 use SilverStripe\Model\List\ArrayList;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBBoolean;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBText;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBFloat;
@@ -124,9 +125,11 @@ class SSViewer_Scope
      * Returns the current "active" item
      *
      * @return object
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 use getCurrentItem() instead.
      */
     public function getItem()
     {
+        Deprecation::notice('5.4.0', 'use getCurrentItem() instead.');
         $item = $this->itemIterator ? $this->itemIterator->current() : $this->item;
         if (is_scalar($item)) {
             $item = $this->convertScalarToDBField($item);
@@ -140,6 +143,11 @@ class SSViewer_Scope
         return $item;
     }
 
+    public function getCurrentItem()
+    {
+        return $this->getItem();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Called at the start of every lookup chain by SSTemplateParser to indicate a new lookup from local scope
      *
@@ -192,7 +200,7 @@ class SSViewer_Scope
      */
     public function getObj($name, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = null)
     {
-        $on = $this->getItem();
+        $on = $this->getCurrentItem();
         if ($on === null) {
             return null;
         }
@@ -205,9 +213,11 @@ class SSViewer_Scope
      * @param bool $cache
      * @param string $cacheName
      * @return $this
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be renamed scopeToIntermediateValue()
      */
     public function obj($name, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be renamed scopeToIntermediateValue()');
         switch ($name) {
             case 'Up':
                 if ($this->upIndex === null) {
@@ -259,7 +269,7 @@ class SSViewer_Scope
      */
     public function self()
     {
-        $result = $this->getItem();
+        $result = $this->getCurrentItem();
         $this->resetLocalScope();
 
         return $result;
@@ -359,8 +369,12 @@ class SSViewer_Scope
      */
     public function __call($name, $arguments)
     {
-        $on = $this->getItem();
-        $retval = $on ? $on->$name(...$arguments) : null;
+        $on = $this->getCurrentItem();
+        if ($on instanceof ViewableData && $name === 'XML_val') {
+            $retval = $on->XML_val(...$arguments);
+        } else {
+            $retval = $on ? $on->$name(...$arguments) : null;
+        }
 
         $this->resetLocalScope();
         return $retval;
diff --git a/src/View/ThemeResourceLoader.php b/src/View/ThemeResourceLoader.php
index 8799fe13a..4ac45a097 100644
--- a/src/View/ThemeResourceLoader.php
+++ b/src/View/ThemeResourceLoader.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use SilverStripe\Core\Injector\Injector;
 use SilverStripe\Core\Manifest\ModuleLoader;
 use SilverStripe\Core\Manifest\ModuleResourceLoader;
 use SilverStripe\Core\Path;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 
 /**
  * Handles finding templates from a stack of template manifest objects.
@@ -182,9 +183,11 @@ class ThemeResourceLoader implements Flushable, TemplateGlobalProvider
      * @return string Absolute path to resolved template file, or null if not resolved.
      * File location will be in the format themes/<theme>/templates/<directories>/<type>/<basename>.ss
      * Note that type (e.g. 'Layout') is not the root level directory under 'templates'.
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public function findTemplate($template, $themes = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         if ($themes === null) {
             $themes = SSViewer::get_themes();
         }