Dunwich

Fishing village on the eastern coast of Suffolk, England, 7 km/4 mi southwest of Southwold; population (2001) 80. In the early Middle Ages Dunwich was the capital of the kingdom of Mercia and a thriving seaport with a bishop's seat and a king's palace, but the site of the former town is now underwater, and the sea continues to encroach on the land. Immediately to the south of Dunwich lies the Minsmere bird reserve.

A bishopric was established at Dunwich in about 630 by Sigebert, who built a royal palace for himself and a church for the new bishop, Felix. The port became prosperous by exporting wool to the Low Countries. But the sea gradually eroded the cliffs, and in the reign of Edward III destroyed 400 houses. A storm in 1386 filled the harbour with shingle, and the decline of the port ensued.

Dunwich has the remains of a 13th-century Franciscan priory, and the ruins of a 12th-century chapel near the present church. The town sent two members to Parliament from 1275 to 1832; the corporation was not abolished until 1886; and by 1920 there were fewer than 200 inhabitants.