Dunwich (IPA: [ˈdʌnɪtʃ]) is a small town in the county of Suffolk in England. It was once a prosperous seaport and centre of the wool trade during the early Middle Ages, with a natural harbour formed by the mouths of the River Blyth and the River Dunwich, most of which has since been lost to erosion. Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the  United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The River Blyth is a river in Suffolk, England, with a tidal estuary between Southwold and Walberswick. ...

It is assumed that the Roman 'Stone Street' runs from Dunwich to Caistor St. Edmund near Norwich. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Caistor St Edmund is a village (population 270) on the River Tas, near Norwich, Norfolk, England. ...

History

At its height Dunwich was one of the largest ports in eastern England, with a population of around 3,000, eight churches, five houses of religious orders, three chapels and two hospitals. The main exports were wool and grain, and the main imports were fish, furs and timber from Iceland and the Baltic region, cloth from the Netherlands, and wine from France. Population density in the wider Baltic region. ...

Dunwich is first referred to in the 7th Century AD when St Felix of Burgundy founded the See of East Anglia at Dommoc in 632 AD. Years later antiquarians would describe it as being the 'former capital of East Anglia' ^[1] although this reference is almost certainly a romantic creation as no documents survive from the town's heyday which refer to Dunwich as such. The Domesday Book of 1086 describes it as possessing three churches. The historian and diver Stuart Bacon, who has made several visits to the seabed in a bid to find the remains of the old town, has found evidence that it may have possessed up to 18 churches and chapels at the height of its fortune during the 12th and 13th centuries. Saint Felix of Burgundy is a saint widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to East Anglia in Eastern England. ... Dommoc, a place not certainly identified but probably within the modern county of Suffolk, was the original seat of the bishops of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia. ... A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ...

In 1286 a large storm swept much of the town into the sea and the Dunwich River was partly silted up. Residents fought to save the harbour but this too was destroyed by an equally fierce storm in 1328, which also swept away the entire village of Newton, a few miles up the coast. Another large storm in 1347 swept some 400 houses into the sea. A quarter of the city had been lost and the remainder of Dunwich was lost to the sea over a period of two to three hundred years through a form of coastal erosion known as long-shore drift. Buildings that sit on the present day cliffs were once a mile inland. In 1754 the antiquarian Thomas Gardner published a highly influential history of Dunwich (and two other towns, Blythburgh and Southwold) with images of some of the lost churches, but some of his claims have been disputed by later historians. // A newton, the SI unit of force (named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton). ... Coastal erosion is a process which affects the landmass of an area as a consequence of the sea acting upon it. ... In geography, longshore drift (LSD) refers to a process by which sediments move along a beach shoreline. ... Holy Trinity church Blythburgh is an English village in the coastal Suffolk marshes, under a hundred miles from London, and four miles from the North Sea at Southwold. ...

Most of the original buildings have disappeared, including all eight churches, and Dunwich is now a small coastal "village", though retaining its status as a town. However, the remains of a Franciscan priory (Greyfriars) and a building constructed as a hospice for lepers can still be seen. A popular local legend says that at certain tides, church bells can still be heard from beneath the waves. Hansens disease, commonly known as leprosy, is an infectious disease caused by infection by Mycobacterium leprae. ...

By the mid-nineteenth century, the population had dwindled to 237 inhabitants and Dunwich was described as a decayed and disfranchised borough^[2]. A new church, St James, was built in 1832, after the last of the old churches, All Saints, which had been without a rector since 1755, was abandoned. It fell into the sea between 1904 and 1919, with the last major portion of the tower succumbing on November 12, 1919. In 1971 the historian Stuart Bacon located the remains of All Saints Church a few yards out to sea during a diving exhibition. Two years later in 1973 he also discovered the ruins of St Peter's Church which was lost to the sea during the 18th century. Most recently, he has located what may be the remains of shipbuilding industry on the site^[3]. Year 1832 (MDCCCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

As a legacy of its previous significance it retained the right to send two Members to Parliament until the Reform Act 1832, making it an example of a rotten borough. The Representation of the People Act 1832, commonly known as the Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of the United Kingdom. ... The term rotten borough referred to a parliamentary borough or constituency in Great Britain and Ireland which, due to size and population, was controlled and used by a patron to exercise undue and unrepresentative influence within parliament. ...

Churches and Other Notable Structures

The ruins of All Saints Church in Dunwich, here in a postcard of 1904.

• All Saints Church: Last of Dunwich's ancient churches to be lost to the sea, All Saints was abandoned in the 1750s after it was decided the parishioners could no longer afford the upkeep, although burials occurred in the churchyard until the 1820s. All Saints reached the cliff's edge in 1904 with the tower falling in 1922. ^[4] One of the tower buttresses was salvaged, however, and now stands in the current Victorian-era Church of St James.

• St Bartholemew's: One of two 'Domesday' churches, St Bartholemew's is thought to have been lost in the storm of 1328.

• St John the Baptist: Situated beside the Market Place in the centre of the city, St John's was Dunwich's leading church throughout the Middle Ages. It was a cruciform structure which also contained a chapel dedicated to St Nicholas. In 1510 a pier was erected in an attempt to act as a breakwater from the sea and in 1542 further funds were raised in a bid to save the building but to no avail and the building was largely demolished before it went over the cliffs. During the demolition the 18th century historian Thomas Gardiner records that a stone was uncovered to reveal the remains of a man on whose breast stood 'two chalices of course metal.' It is possible that the remains may have belonged to a Saxon bishop of Dunwich and that therefore St John's may have been built on the site of the original 'cathedral.'

• St Leonard's: Situated in the north of the town, St Leonard's is thought to have been abandoned soon after the Black Death and was probably lost to the sea soon afterwards.

• St Martin's: Built before 1175, it was lost to the sea between 1335 and 1408.

• St Michael's: The other Domesday church situated in the east of the town. It was lost to the sea in the storm of 1328.

• St Nicholas: Like St John's this was a cruciform building which lay to the south of the city. Lost to the sea soon after the Black Death.

• St Peter's: Similar in length to the church at nearby Blythburgh, St Peter's was stripped of anything of value as the cliff edge drew nearer. The east gable fell in 1688 and the rest of the building followed in 1697. The parish register survives and is now in the British Library.

• Preceptory of the Knights Templar: The Preceptory is thought to have been founded around 1189 and was a circular building not dissimilar to the famous Temple Church in London. When the Sheriff of Suffolk and Norfolk took an inventory in 1308 he found the sum of £111 contained in three pouches - a vast sum. In 1322, on the orders of Edward II, all the Templars' land passed to the Knights Hospitallers. Following the dissolution of the Hospitallers in 1562 the Temple was demolished and the foundations washed away during the reign of Charles I.

• St Francis Chapel: Standing beside the Dunwich River, the chapel was lost in the 16th century.

• St Anthony's Chapel: Lost around 1330.

• St Katherine's Chapel: Situated in the parish of St John, this was lost in the 16th century.

• The Benedictine Cell: The cell was attached to Ely Cathedral and was lost during the storm of 1328.

• Blackfriars: Dominican priory situated in the south-east of the city. It was founded during the time of Henry III by Roger Holish. By 1385 preparations were made for the Dominicans to move to nearby Blythburgh as the sea front drew nearer, although these were certainly premature as the priory remained active and above sea level until at least the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, with the last building recorded as having fallen to the sea in 1717.

• Greyfriars: Franciscan priory founded by Richard FitzJohn between 1228 and 1230 but was abandoned due to the advancing sea in 1328. It was rebuilt further inland (outside the original city limits) and the ruins survive to this day, the only building from the town's glory days to do so, although the encroaching cliffs are now but a few feet away.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the 11th century census. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Saint Nicholas, also known as Nikolaus in Germany and Sinterklaas (a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas) in the Netherlands and Flanders, is the common name for the historical Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in 4th century Byzantine Anatolia, (now in modern Turkey) and had a reputation for secret gift... Breakwaters create safe harbors, but can also trap sediment moving along the coast. ... An antiquarian or antiquary is one concerned with antiquities or things of the past. ... Chalice For other uses, see Chalice A chalice (from Latin calix, cup) is a goblet intended to hold drink. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... It has been suggested that Plague doctor be merged into this article or section. ... Holy Trinity church Blythburgh is an English village in the coastal Suffolk marshes, under a hundred miles from London, and four miles from the North Sea at Southwold. ... A parish register is a book, normally kept in a parish church, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded. ... British Library Ossulston St entrance, with distinctive red logo. ... The site of Aslackby Preceptory, Lincolnshire is now occupied by the village of Aslackby. ... The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), popularly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, were among the most famous of the Christian military orders. ... The Temple Church. ... Look up Sheriff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Edward II, (25 April 1284 – 21 September? 1327), of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until deposed in January, 1327. ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... Look up cell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Front of Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral (in full, The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely) is the principal church of the diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Ely. ... A priory is an ecclesiastical circumscription run by a prior. ... Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272) was crowned King of England in 1216, despite being less than ten years of age. ... Holy Trinity church Blythburgh is an English village in the coastal Suffolk marshes, under a hundred miles from London, and four miles from the North Sea at Southwold. ... dissolution see Dissolution. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 - 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Franciscans is the common name used to designate a variety of mendicant religious orders of men or women tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi and following the Rule of St. ...

Dunwich today

The village now lies between the birdwatching areas of Dunwich Heath (to the north, towards Walberswick and Southwold) and Minsmere (to the south, towards Sizewell). Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds. ... Walberswick is a village on the Suffolk coast, across the River Blyth from Southwold and close to Orford Ness. ... Statistics Population: 1,458 (2001 Census) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TM510763 Administration District: Waveney Shire county: Suffolk Region: East of England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Suffolk Historic county: Suffolk Services Police force: Suffolk Constabulary Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: {{{Ambulance}}} Post office and... RSPB Minsmere is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB, in Suffolk, England. ... View of Sizewell from the south Sizewell is a small fishing village with a few holiday homes in the county of Suffolk, England. ...

Dunwich is the destination of the annual semi-organized bicycle ride, the Dunwich Dynamo, which leaves Hackney in London on the Saturday night closest to the full moon in July and arrives in Dunwich on the Sunday morning. “Velo” redirects here. ... The Dunwich Dynamo is an annual semi-organised, through-the-night bicycle ride from London Fields park in Hackney, London, England to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. ... The London Borough of Hackney is a London Borough in the east end of London and part of inner London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

See also

• Dunwich (UK Parliament constituency)
• Lost cities
• Covehithe
• Easton Bavents
• http://www.saxmundhamcommunity.org.uk

Dunwich was a parliamentary borough in Suffolk, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. ... Lost Cities is a 60-card card game, designed in 1999 by game designer Reiner Knizia and published by several publishers. ... The Coastal hamlet of Covehithe lies around 5 miles North of Southwold. ... Easton Bavents was once the most easterly ecclesiastical parish in England - a map of Suffolk dated around 1610 shows a headland projecting eastwards into the sea there. ...

References

1. ^ The Kings England: Suffolk. Arthur Mee pp124-128
2. ^ William White, History, Gazeteer, and Directory of Suffolk, R. Leader, Sheffield, 1844
3. ^ BBC News, 10/10/2005: Low Tide Reveals Lost City Find[1]
4. ^ Comfort: The Lost City of Dunwich: Churches and Chapels pp99-102

Further reading

• Ancient Dunwich: Suffolk’s Lost City., Jean Carter and Stuart Bacon. (Segment, 1975)
• The Lost City of Dunwich, Nicholas Comfort (Terence Dalton, 1994), ISBN 0-86138-086-X
• Men of Dunwich, Rowland Parker (Alastair Press 1978), ISBN 1-870567-85-4
• A Suffolk Coast Garland, Ernest Read Cooper (London: Heath Cranton Ltd, 1928).
• Memories of Bygone Dunwich, Ernest Read Cooper (Southwold: F. Jenkins, 1948).
• The little freemen of Dunwich, Ormonde Pickard

External links

• About Norfolk and Suffolk - Dunwich
• All Saints, Dunwich
• Low tide reveals lost city find (BBC News, 10 October 2005)
• The town, its history, people, and destruction by coastal erosion
• Map sources for Dunwich

Coordinates: 52.27688° N 1.62672° E The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...