Thursday 22 September 2022

The Lost Town of Dunwich

 Dunwich is a tiny village on the Suffolk coast between the two popular tourist towns of Southwold and Aldeburgh but once it was a town bigger than both of them.



The yellow dotted line is where the coast line is now, all that below is long gone


When the shingle moved during storms and blocked the harbour the town became unimportant and not worth defending and further storms over centuries encroached on the village and all six churches, the streets and homes were gradually washed away.




The beach is shingle and to the north you can see Southwold ..................




To the South just a few miles further along past the cliffs are the domes of Sizewell B Nuclear power Station and the place where Sizewell C will be built............On a coast that disappears into the sea!

An onshore strong wind and the waves were huge, the sun was bright and I hadn't a clue what I was taking a photo of - hence the leaning  horizon!

Just a few local fishing boats are all that remains of the once great trading port



And just a few ruins are all that remains of the once important Greyfriars Priory






Dunwich has a fascinating little museum


This collection of  drawings and photos show how the last of the 6 churches disappeared into the sea




A new church for the village was built in 1832 - although I didn't go to look at it this time.
I hadn't been to Dunwich for several years so it was a nice day out. I parked on the car park behind the shingle beach, no sea view sadly, and it gradually filled during the day with crowds of people having the famous huge plates of fish and chips from the café.
Treated myself to a sausage roll with a side salad and sat outside, which was a mistake, as it was so windy the lettuce kept blowing off my plate!

Back Soon
Sue





26 comments:

  1. I love seacoast towns/cities and have lived in houses on a cliff overlooking the sea. The sea is a force unto itself. Dunwich gives excellent testimony to this fact. The sea definitely reclaims land and it is happening in many places. For example, in Massachusetts, some homeowners with help from the Federal and State government are building sea walls to prevent homes from being washed into the sea. Some homeowners are putting their homes on stilts (pillars) so the sea washes underneath. Personally, I believe, the sea will win out over time. Your day in Dulwich sounds outstanding. The wind was strong but winds off the ocean can be harrowing and unpredictable.

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    1. All down the East coast of Suffolk and Norfolk the sea is still washing the cliffs away - the sea always does it's own thing

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  2. Lovely post. I've always wanted to visit but haven't made it yet. I have seen lots of news stories and programmes about it though. I find it fascinating.

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    1. Next time you are over to visit perhaps you'll get there

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  3. What a beautiful day. I love the sea, probably because it is a place I rarely have a chance to visit.

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    1. I love the sea but here on the North Sea coast it's always grey - The Cornish coast is the best

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  4. Lovely experience reading that. All the stories of church bells ringing under the sea comes to mind. The sea looked rough as well!

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    1. There are many tales of church bells ringing - but I should think they went rusty years ago!

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  5. I just cannot understand why ANYBODY should think this coastline is a wise choice for a nuclear power station!

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  6. That is a lot of land to lose to the sea. It seems a bizarre choice to be extending sizewell in that location.

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    1. I expect they will build C there - glad I'm not living close but sadly Youngest daughter is still there

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  7. Very interesting place. One wonders what Dunwich would be like now if the sea had not reclaimed the port town. Perhaps Harwich would be a quaint coastal village! We have sampled the famous fish and chips at the cafe in Dunwich. They were certainly high quality but those with small appetites might struggle.

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    1. The battered fish is always bigger than the plate!

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  8. I seem to remember about the church bells ringing from beneath the sea during a storm? What an interesting day out and great photos. Sniggering gently here about your mobile lettuce!!

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    1. Yes lots of tales of what remains under the sea but divers have never found much

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  9. Dunwich has been on my 'want to visit' list for ages, but it's rather a long way from Cumbria so thank you for sharing it so well.

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    1. Quite a journey from West to East - perhaps you'll get here one day

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  10. What a lovely day out-I love to be at the seashore. Catriona

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    1. I need to spend more days by the sea - perhaps next year

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  11. the nuclear plant on the coastline why do they always put them there? The one we have here is on the tiny bit of coastline Nh has.
    very interesting about how the sea claimed the village. I do think there will be more of that in the century ahead.
    Cathy

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    1. The sea is still claiming the cliffs and homes just a few miles further north on the Suffolk coast

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    2. A nuclear plant of any description HAS to be near to a large body of water to be able to pipe in enough to desalinate and cool the reactors or storage cannisters.

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  12. Very interesting and poignant too.
    How did you resist the Fish n Chips?
    Alison in Wales x

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    1. Easy to resist Fish and Chips there as it costs £15! My pensioners price F&C from up the road is only £4 - unless it's gone up again

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  13. I hate to think of homes and whole streets being lost to the sea. I'll have to ask Alan about the plans for Sizewell C, there must be a reason it's deemed safe to build it there.

    I had to laugh at the thought of your lettuce blowing away ... sorry. ;-)

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