The Lost Town Of Ancient Dunwich

United Kingdom / England / Southwold /
 office building, ruins, archaeological site, interesting place, invisible, ghost town
A cathedral city until AD 870, Dunwich was one of England's greatest port towns during the medieval period. Coastal erosion has destroyed its many churches, monasteries and public buildings. After repeated major floods, only fragments of buildings remain for a while on the clifftop. The place still has an atmosphere and a good strip of beach, it's a lesson for anyone concerned about climate change. The outline on the map is roughly based on historical accounts.

Photo: Vintage image of All Saints' Church, "last of Dunwich's ancient churches to be lost to the sea" according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia continues, "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."
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   52°16'44"N   1°38'39"E

Comments

  • I don't think it happened because of climate change. Erosion is natural.
  • Agreed but could this be the fate of other East Coast towns? The story of Dunwich is of a brave fight against the advancing sea across the centuries. Successive systems of coastal defences were destroyed in immense storms until most of the site was abandoned.
This article was last modified 13 years ago