diff --git a/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php b/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php
index 41b0713d9c9..1bcb2ea4a93 100644
--- a/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php
+++ b/src/Forms/GridField/GridFieldDataColumns.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 use SilverStripe\Core\Convert;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use LogicException;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 use SilverStripe\View\ViewableData;
 
 /**
@@ -228,9 +229,11 @@ public function getColumnMetadata($gridField, $column)
      * @param ViewableData $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/View/SSTemplateParser.peg b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.peg
index 0f15460f97b..76c40ed98e5 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 ($this->includeDebuggingComments) { // Add include filename comments on dev sites
diff --git a/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php
index 9ca62eaa54b..c7c273414a9 100644
--- a/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php
+++ b/src/View/SSTemplateParser.php
@@ -3897,7 +3897,7 @@ function Include__finalise(&$res)
         $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 3b82eb3fdd9..d8c14248852 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer.php
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBHTMLText;
 use SilverStripe\Security\Permission;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 
 /**
  * Parses a template file with an *.ss file extension.
@@ -86,6 +87,7 @@ 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';
 
@@ -134,6 +136,7 @@ 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 = [];
 
@@ -141,6 +144,7 @@ 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;
 
@@ -148,6 +152,7 @@ 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;
 
@@ -155,6 +160,7 @@ 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 = [];
 
@@ -165,11 +171,13 @@ 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;
 
@@ -185,6 +193,7 @@ 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);
         }
 
@@ -207,9 +216,11 @@ public function __construct($templates, TemplateParser $parser = null)
 
     /**
      * 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);
     }
@@ -220,9 +231,11 @@ public static function flush()
      * @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);
@@ -325,9 +338,11 @@ public static function get_templates_by_class($classOrObject, $suffix = '', $bas
      * Get the current item being processed
      *
      * @return ViewableData
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public static function topLevel()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         if (SSViewer::$topLevel) {
             return SSViewer::$topLevel[sizeof(SSViewer::$topLevel)-1];
         }
@@ -385,9 +400,11 @@ public static function setRewriteHashLinksDefault($rewrite)
 
     /**
      * @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);
         $this->subTemplates = [];
@@ -398,9 +415,11 @@ public function setTemplate($templates)
      *
      * @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());
     }
 
@@ -408,9 +427,11 @@ public static function chooseTemplate($templates)
      * 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;
     }
 
@@ -418,9 +439,11 @@ public function setParser(TemplateParser $parser)
      * Returns the parser that is set for template generation
      *
      * @return TemplateParser
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getParser()
      */
     public function getParser()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getParser()');
         if (!$this->parser) {
             $this->setParser(Injector::inst()->get('SilverStripe\\View\\SSTemplateParser'));
         }
@@ -433,9 +456,11 @@ public function getParser()
      * @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());
     }
 
@@ -452,9 +477,11 @@ public function dontRewriteHashlinks()
 
     /**
      * @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;
     }
 
@@ -462,9 +489,11 @@ public function exists()
      * @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());
     }
 
@@ -475,9 +504,11 @@ public static function getTemplateFileByType($identifier, $type = null)
      *
      * @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 = $dir->read())) {
@@ -496,9 +527,11 @@ public static function flush_template_cache($force = false)
      *
      * @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');
             $cache->clear();
@@ -512,9 +545,11 @@ public static function flush_cacheblock_cache($force = false)
      * 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;
     }
 
@@ -522,9 +557,11 @@ public function setPartialCacheStore($cache)
      * Get the cache object to use when storing / retrieving partial cache blocks.
      *
      * @return CacheInterface
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getPartialCacheStore()
      */
     public function getPartialCacheStore()
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be replaced with SilverStripe\View\SSTemplateEngine::getPartialCacheStore()');
         if ($this->partialCacheStore) {
             return $this->partialCacheStore;
         }
@@ -552,11 +589,13 @@ public function includeRequirements($incl = true)
      * @param ViewableData $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 ViewableData $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: $cacheFile</h2>";
@@ -596,6 +635,9 @@ protected function includeGeneratedTemplate($cacheFile, $item, $overlay, $underl
      */
     public function process($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();
         $origRewriteDefault = static::getRewriteHashLinksDefault();
@@ -682,9 +724,11 @@ public function process($item, $arguments = null, $inheritedScope = null)
      * @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];
@@ -722,9 +766,14 @@ function ($template) {
      * @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 ($globalRequirements) {
@@ -754,9 +803,11 @@ public static function execute_template($template, $data, $arguments = null, $sc
      * @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 ($globalRequirements) {
@@ -781,9 +832,11 @@ public static function execute_string($content, $data, $arguments = null, $globa
      * @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,
             $template,
@@ -796,18 +849,22 @@ public function parseTemplateContent($content, $template = "")
      * '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 = $file;
         } else {
@@ -822,17 +879,29 @@ public function setTemplateFile($type, $file)
      * @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 7c5b6e5ecd0..75ce2abc866 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer_DataPresenter.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer_DataPresenter.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use SilverStripe\Core\ClassInfo;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
 
 /**
@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@
  * 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
 {
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ public function __construct(
         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 40dfed6a0b7..e0259f69215 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer_FromString.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer_FromString.php
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
 namespace SilverStripe\View;
 
 use SilverStripe\Core\Config\Config;
+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
 {
@@ -37,6 +39,11 @@ 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 15a6744773f..1dea7f94b58 100644
--- a/src/View/SSViewer_Scope.php
+++ b/src/View/SSViewer_Scope.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 use ArrayIterator;
 use Countable;
 use Iterator;
+use SilverStripe\Dev\Deprecation;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBBoolean;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBText;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBFloat;
@@ -123,9 +124,11 @@ public function __construct($item, SSViewer_Scope $inheritedScope = null)
      * 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);
@@ -133,6 +136,11 @@ public function getItem()
         return $item;
     }
 
+    public function getCurrentItem()
+    {
+        return $this->getItem();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Called at the start of every lookup chain by SSTemplateParser to indicate a new lookup from local scope
      *
@@ -185,7 +193,7 @@ public function resetLocalScope()
      */
     public function getObj($name, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = null)
     {
-        $on = $this->getItem();
+        $on = $this->getCurrentItem();
         if ($on === null) {
             return null;
         }
@@ -198,9 +206,11 @@ public function getObj($name, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = null
      * @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 ($this->upIndex === null) {
@@ -252,7 +262,7 @@ public function obj($name, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = null)
      */
     public function self()
     {
-        $result = $this->getItem();
+        $result = $this->getCurrentItem();
         $this->resetLocalScope();
 
         return $result;
@@ -350,8 +360,12 @@ public function next()
      */
     public function __call($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 8799fe13a66..4ac45a09766 100644
--- a/src/View/ThemeResourceLoader.php
+++ b/src/View/ThemeResourceLoader.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 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 @@ public function getPath($identifier)
      * @return string Absolute path to resolved template file, or null if not resolved.
      * File location will be in the format themes/<theme>/templates/<directories>/<type>/<basename>.ss
      * Note that type (e.g. 'Layout') is not the root level directory under 'templates'.
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public function findTemplate($template, $themes = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         if ($themes === null) {
             $themes = SSViewer::get_themes();
         }
diff --git a/src/View/ViewableData.php b/src/View/ViewableData.php
index 080edcea874..655b1c8f266 100644
--- a/src/View/ViewableData.php
+++ b/src/View/ViewableData.php
@@ -426,9 +426,11 @@ public function castingHelper($field)
      *
      * @param string $field
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public function castingClass($field)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.');
         // Strip arguments
         $spec = $this->castingHelper($field);
         return trim(strtok($spec ?? '', '(') ?? '');
@@ -439,9 +441,11 @@ public function castingClass($field)
      *
      * @param string $field
      * @return string 'xml'|'raw'
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it.
      */
     public function escapeTypeForField($field)
     {
+        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 $type */
@@ -488,9 +492,11 @@ public function renderWith($template, $customFields = null)
      * @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)
             : $fieldName;
@@ -546,6 +552,9 @@ protected function objCacheClear()
      */
     public function obj($fieldName, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = null)
     {
+        if ($cacheName !== null) {
+            Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0', 'The $cacheName parameter has been deprecated and will be removed');
+        }
         if (!$cacheName && $cache) {
             $cacheName = $this->objCacheName($fieldName, $arguments);
         }
@@ -588,9 +597,11 @@ public function obj($fieldName, $arguments = [], $cache = false, $cacheName = nu
      * @param array $arguments
      * @param string $identifier an optional custom cache identifier
      * @return Object|DBField
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 use obj() instead
      */
     public function cachedCall($fieldName, $arguments = [], $identifier = null)
     {
+        Deprecation::notice('5.4.0', 'Use obj() instead');
         return $this->obj($fieldName, $arguments, true, $identifier);
     }
 
@@ -617,9 +628,11 @@ public function hasValue($field, $arguments = [], $cache = true)
      * @param array $arguments
      * @param bool $cache
      * @return string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function XML_val($field, $arguments = [], $cache = false)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         $result = $this->obj($field, $arguments, $cache);
         // Might contain additional formatting over ->XML(). E.g. parse shortcodes, nl2br()
         return $result->forTemplate();
@@ -630,9 +643,11 @@ public function XML_val($field, $arguments = [], $cache = false)
      *
      * @param array $fields an array of field names
      * @return array
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 Will be removed without equivalent functionality to replace it
      */
     public function getXMLValues($fields)
     {
+        Deprecation::noticeWithNoReplacment('5.4.0');
         $result = [];
 
         foreach ($fields as $field) {