John Spiller — Erosion of Suffolk Coast. 25 



1754, Saxton's map of 1575, and earlier records, prove how great 

 has been the loss since that town was the capital of East Anglia, 

 and boasted of its mint and numerous churches, only one of which, 

 All Saints, and the adjoining monastery, now both in ruins, yet 

 remain on the high cliff as sole survivors of its ancient grandeur. 

 Covehithe Ness has worked back about two miles ; Easton Bavents 

 about as much, and is no longer the most easterly point of England. 

 Southwold also has lost nearly a mile. The coast-line, instead of 

 showing a bold promontory at Covehithe and Easton, is almost 

 reduced to a straight line on the present Ox - dnance Map, and the 

 designation " Sole Bay " has thus become a misnomer, the northern 

 limit being destroyed. 



But to return to Southwold proper, and estimate the loss of 

 land there by recent coast erosion, I have had the advantage of 

 professional assistance kindly rendered by Mr. Eaton W. Moore, 

 Surveyor and Land Agent, who has lived in Southwold nearly all 

 his life, and remembers the sweeping away, in March 1862, of the 

 coastguard house and beach-cottages which formerly stood on the 

 shore below the East Cliff and Centre Cliff. This gentleman has 

 measured the inlet, which I now propose to call North Cove, and 

 gives me the following dimensions, viz.: 148 feet long by 60 feet 

 mean depth, equal to 8880 square feet, or, roughly, one-fifth of an 

 acre. And, if we add to this the loss of contiguous roadway, near 

 the fishermen's huts, amounting to 396 x 32 = 12,672 square feet, 

 we arrive at a sum total of 21,5o2 square feet, equal to about half 

 an acre, of land actually washed away by the recent high tide. Not 

 only is territory diminished to this extent, but there has been a 

 great drifting away of loose shingle from the back of the shore, so 

 that the path left remaining is " terraced " from four to six feet 

 above the beach-level, instead of forming a gentle gradient from 

 roadway to sea, as was the case prior to May 16th. By the removal 

 of this thick shingle-bed and the erosion of the face of the cliffs 

 beneath, the sections of Boulder-clay, sand, and loam, with a little 

 bit of black peaty bed, and one or two pockets of shelly crag, have 

 come prominently into view. A human skeleton also was found 

 buried in a superficial accumulation made up partly of reassorted 

 Boulder-clay, which at first was thought to be prehistoric, but this 

 has been taken in hand by Mr. Walter Mawer, 1 and submitted to 

 Dr. Garson and Mr. E. T. Newton, with the result that its primeval 

 claims have been finally disposed of, and the cranium held to be 

 that of a low, but ordinary, type of current humanity. 



As if to compensate for the town's loss, the shingle-beds both to 

 the north and south of Southwold have been considerably raised, 

 and spread over a wider area of the marshes. This is apparent all 

 round the "rocket staff" marked on the Ordnance Map, and the 

 " brickmakers' pond " has also been partially filled up ; moreover, 

 another ditch, approached by a gate through which I passed last 

 year, is now firmly silted up. A breach has likewise been made, 

 to the extent of 74 feet, at the northern end of the straight dyke 

 1 "The Southwold Skeleton" : East Anglian Daily Times, June 7th, 1895. 



