Dunwich, England

June 15, 2007

We spent the day at Dunwich, a place I've wanted to see and is supposedly haunted by villagers past .... oooooh! (don't get too frightened!) The Smith clan, headed by Ross and Jane and accompanied by Bethany, Kristin, Megan, Ben, Ammon, Samuel and Jacob came along as did Jennifer Takacs, her children Thrin, Caden and Gideon, and Parker Garrett.

The beach was very "pebbly" (nice word, eh?) and it was rather tiresome dumping them out of my crocs! :| argh! The waves were actually quite strong, as was the undertow ... it is no wonder the city fell into the sea! yowsa! We had lunch there and then walked our way to the ruins of the priory. After checking that out, we went to the museum and then needed to head back home because Emmy had a birthday party to attend.

Here's a litte (but very interesting) history of Dunwich -

Dunwich ... it was once a prosperous seaport and center of the wool trade during the early Middle Ages. There was a natural harbor formed by the mouths of two rivers - I believe I read that Dunwich (at the height of it's prosperity) was the 6th largest city in England. The town was first referred to in 632 and is said to have been 'the former capital of East Anglia'.

In 1286, a large storm swept much of the town into the sea and the Dunwich River was partly silted up.

In 1328, another fierce storm came, which swept an entire village a few miles up the coast (Newton) into the sea.

A third storm (1347) swept some 400 houses into the sea. Queen Elizabeth I lent her support (I mean money) to help Dunwich recover, but it was too late. A quarter of the city had been already lost by this time through a form of coastal erosion. Buildings that sit on the present day cliffs were once a mile inland.

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 (from the churches lost to the sea) can still be heard from beneath the waves (boooooo!)