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Dunwich was once a prosperous seaport and centre of the wool trade in the county of Suffolk in England during the early middle ages, with a natural harbour formed by the mouths of the River Blyth and the River Dunwich . Over time, the rivers silted up, and 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.
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.
Little remains now but a village, and most of the original buildings have disappeared, including all eight churches (a new church was built in the 19th century). However, the remains of a Franciscan priory and a building constructed as a hospice for lepers can still be seen. As a legacy of its previous significance it retained the right to send two Members to Parliament until 1832.
The village now lies between the birdwatchingBirding or birdwatching is a hobby concerned with the observation and study of birds (the study proper is termed ornithology). The term "birding" is of American origin; "birdwatching" is (or more correctly, was) the commonly-used word in Great Britain and areas of Dunwich Heath (to the north, towards WalberswickWalberswick is a village on the Suffolk coast, across the River Blyth from Southwold and close to Orford Ness. Walberswick has good varied local habitats for birds and has a national nature reserve managed by English Nature. Walberswick was home to the no and SouthwoldSouthwold is an ancient town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, at the mouth of the River Blyth. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as an important fishing port, and it received a charter from Henry VII in 1489. But in the following centuries, a shingle) and Minsmere (to the south, towards SizewellThe Sizewell B nuclear reactor is near Leiston, Suffolk, on the East Anglian coast. It is a pressurised water reactor (PWR) of 1188 MW. It was built between 1988 and 1995. It is readily visible from the nearby holiday beaches. External link http://www.).
geography stubs Villages in Suffolk