Dunwich, Suffolk

In 1250 Dunwich was one of the largest ports in England with a population of 4,000 people.  It was a trading port, a religious centre and a borough with a royal charter.  Today Dunwich has barely 100 residents.  Since Roman times the sea has claimed 2 Kms of coastline and reduced a great port to a tiny village.

The ruins of Greyfriar's Abbey dating to late 14th/15th century....

The friary was founded at the end of the 13th century and may have originally been built nearer the sea.  It is thought that there was a Roman settlement on the site and it prospered during the Anglo Saxon period.

The perimeter walls show the vast size of the site...

With such wonderful weather it felt more like being in ancient Rome than medieval Suffolk!

Most of medieval Dunwich (Suffolk's 'Atlantis') now lies beneath the waves of the North Sea...… 

The 'Last Grave'.... this is the last surviving head stone from the churchyard of the medieval church of All Saints which lay about 40 metres to the east of this spot.  The church was disused by 1758 and fell over the eroding cliff between 1904 and 1920.  The head stone reads 'In memory of Jacob Forster who departed this life 12th March 1796 age 38 years'.  Within a few years Jacob's last resting place will join those graves already lost to the sea.

Source:  Information boards on site.