The evening times., 1899-06-24
VANISHING ENGLAND.
Rapid Encroachments of the Sen q
the Eastern Coast.

the Eastern Coast.
From the London Mail)
Inhabitants Of inland towns have no con-
| ception of the anxiety experienced by the
dwellers on the English coast in conse-
quence Of the certain. and in some cases.
the rapid. disappearance OF their homes
through the inroads Of the sea-
Nowhere. perhaps. is this so apparent
as along the east coast. Take for in
stance. the pretty and historic village OF
Dunwich. Though now only very small
place. IL was in former times large city.
the capital of East Anglia and the see OF
the diocese. 1t held no inconsiderable place
among the commercial cities Of the king
dom.
1t had eight parish churches and a great
number OF chapels and monastic institu-
All Saints Church, the Chapel of st.
James Hospital. and the Maison Dieu,
have been washed away.
An old chronicle records. with refer
ence 10 this particular neighborhood, that
a wood, called East Wood or the Kin 5
Forest. extended several miles southeast
OF the town, but many years ago il was
destroyed by the sea. The land must have
stretched far out, and formed the south
ern boundary Of the Bay of Southwold.
In an eruption of the sea in 1873 the
ICOlS VI u sEtdl uuIlDtE VI trees were tA-
posed. This appeared TO be the extremity
of some wood. which was in all probabil-
ity part Of the submerged forest
The sea-" continues the historian. "asi-
tated by violent east or northeast Winds
continued its conQuesis quite to the town,
for whose preservation Henry III in the
sixth year Of his reign 0222). not only re-
Quired assistance OF others, but himself
granted f2OO toward making a fence to
check its inroad.
In the first year of Edward III 1327)
the old port was rendered entirely useless.
and before the twenty-third of the same
King (1350) a great part Of the town, con-
tanning upward OF 400 houses, with certain
shops and windmills, had fallen a prey to
the waves"
BY the end Of the eighteenth century this
ancient and historic town had virtually
disappeared.
Passing from .Dunwich, going southwark,
there is the small town OF Aldeburg. Here
again the sea has made great encroach-
ments. and during the last century has
market place and cross. A plan Of the
town in 1863 proves 1t to have been at that
time Of considerable size.
Perhaps at no place along the east coast
has the sea been fought with so much
pluck and determination as at Southwold
This pleasant and rapidly rising little sea-
side resort. like its neighbors, was once
town of Importance. though not Of such
antiquity as Dunwich. Since the Domes-
day survey the sea has gained upon the
coast one mile, one furlong. and nineteen
perches.
Within the last two or three years It is
estimated that about half an acre OF land
has been washed away. Houses which
formerly stood some distance from the
cliff are now quite close to the edge and
In peril OF being swept to destruction.
Many thousands Of pounds have been
spent, and many more are to be spent
on sea defence works. but the inhabi-
tants are very pessimistic as to the result
1t Is quite possible, notwithstanding that
efforts are being made to combat the
waves. that many Of the present inhabi-
tants may live to see Southwold num-
bered with the towns that have been but
are no more