24 John Spiller — Erosion of Suffolk Coast. 



existence of a clay-footing and promontory at the extreme point, 

 and two immense concrete blocks constructed a few years ago to 

 act as a breakwater and give protection to this part of the cliff. 

 These latter proved of temporary service, but became so shattered 

 and disintegrated that they must be replaced, or a sea-wall built, 

 to resist further inroads at the next high-flowing tide. Similar 

 erosion has occurred on the face of Easton Barents cliff and at 

 Covehithe, and it is feared that the loss of land at those places 

 will render Southwold all the more assailable in future. Upon two 

 occasions during the winter of 1894-5 (December and January) the 

 tide rose to even greater height, and inundated large tracts of salt- 

 marsh around Southwold, making two ruptures in the railway 

 embankment and stopping the trains for a few da}'s, but as there 

 happened fortunately to be no wind at the time the damage done 

 to the sea-front was confined to the sweeping of the shingle further 

 south, with comparatively little damage to the cliffs of Southwold. 

 It became necessary, however, to remove all the boats and capstans 

 from the beach and pull them up the cliff or drag them inland ; and 

 this had again to be done on the loth and 16th May. 



The Barometric and Weather Becord for Southwold, as entered 

 on the Boyal National Lifeboat Institution's chart for the middle 

 of May (8 a.m.) is as follows : — 



force of wind (0 to 12). 

 Gentle breezes, sunshine. 

 Light breeze, sultry. 

 Fresh breeze, gloomy. 



Moderate gale, cloudy, rain, snow, and hail. 

 Strong breeze, ugly threatening weather. 

 Moderate breeze, cloudy. 



It was remarked that with a fresh breeze, northerly, on the loth, 

 the ebb tide was cut short or intercepted, and then came the gale 

 which did the damage with vastly augmented tide on the 16th May-. 

 These are the conditions generally recognized on the East Coa.^t 

 as demanding watchful care on the part of the seafaring population, 

 so that the event was anticipated and preparations made, as far as 

 possible, to cope with the incoming tide on the second day. No 

 injury was sustained by the fishing-boats, nor on the greater part 

 of the sea-front — Centre Cliff and Gun-hill — which are protected 

 by a sea-wall; but the North Cliff, not being so seemed, suffered 

 to the extent described ; and a repetition of northerly gales and high 

 winter-tides may be expected to do further mischief until the 

 precautionary measures, for which Parliamentary sanction is required, 

 are carried out in the coming year, either by prolonging the existing 

 sea-wall or constructing an efficient breakwater at the northern 

 extremity of the town. 



The Memoir of the Geological Survey, by Mr. Whitaker, ex- 

 planatory of "The Geolog}' of Southwold and of the Suffolk Coast 

 from Dunwich to Covehithe," may be consulted with advantage by 

 those desiring information on this all-important subject ; and the 

 waste of the coast during recent years is therein fully described. 

 Thomas Gardner's map and historical account of Dunwich, dated 



