Dunwich was a very important trading and fishing port along the Suffolk coast of England. I say ‘was’ because the bulk of the town, a square mile of it, is now underwater. The coastline here is very sandy, so is highly susceptible to erosion. The town has been falling into the sea since the medieval period.
Historian Dan Snow has helpfully done a little spot on the place that’s worth a watch (it’s a bit old, so the picture quality isn’t great).
It’s been on my to-see list since I first learned of the place a couple of years ago. Liz and I have been bird watching a few times to nearby RSPB Minsmere. It was only after our trip to Minsmere last year that I clocked just how ridiculously close we were to Dunwich.
Our yearly trip to Minsmere happened last weekend, and this time Dunwich didn’t get missed. We had a look around the beach, the Museum, and the remains of the Greyfriars friary.
Dunwich Beach
The town’s historic trail map, as found in the car park beside the beach. The faded bit at the top is the part of town that has gone into the water.
Dunwich Museum
Model of Dunwich in the 13th century, located in the Museum. The yellow dotted line shows the present coastline.The town seal from the 12th century. A painted chest, most likely from a Dutch ship. It was recovered by townspeople from the shore around 1596. The town’s ancient charter gave its bailiffs full ownership of anything that washed up on its shore. It stored town records until the late 19th century. Now it’s an impressive donation box for the museum. A slightly more modern beach find – part of the cockpit ejector mechanism from a Hurricane.
Greyfriars
The last remaining gravestone from All Saints church, which is in the water 40 meters away from this spot. Liz and I are thinking of seeing what we can find out of the grave’s inhabitant, Jacob Forster who died in 1796. And yes, we’re pretty close to the cliff edge here.Just past the above sign, staying 2 meters away. It’s wild to think that there is a whole town out there in the North Sea.
