11558-007 - SC&H KS2 FactSheet07 - HISTORYv09 03/04/2012 14:46 Page 2

Suffolk Coast and Heaths www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org Coastal Knowledge Lost towns and ports

Out and about: Dunwich was once a large port with eight churches, three Visit Dunwich Museum chapels and two hospitals! It was one of the largest towns History Why don't you go and visit in the country. In 1286 a large storm swept much of the Dunwich and see where the town into the sea, and in 1328 another storm destroyed Church would have been and the harbour. 19 years later in 1347, four hundred houses imagine the town underneath were lost. Erosion has continued ever since, and the the sea. Dunwich has a “Hi I’m Ma Tello did you know the great museum – take a look buildings you can now see on the cliffs were once a mile coast has many secrets. Read on inland. The last of the churches, All Saints, fell into the whilst you are there and find out its exciting past.” www.dunwichmuseum.org.uk/ sea on 12 November 1919. The remains of the churches can still be found under the sea.

1909 Dunwich - All Saints 1919 The seaside and its historic buildings you Church 1903 see today look very different compared to when your grandparents were children. The coast is a story of change; whole towns and ports have been lost to the sea in a story that is older than history books! See the Erosion fact sheet for more information. Out and about: and ports The Suffolk coast has often faced another threat Spot the There had been a small village at Felixstowe for centuries, but it from invading armies, and all along the coast you See how many Martello towers wasn’t until 1875 when the was built, and the can see the remains of military defences. There and pillboxes you can spot next coming of the railway fourteen years later, that the town really have also been important scientific inventions time you are out in Suffolk began to grow. Before World War developed here which have changed our world. Coast and Heaths AONB. You One it was so smart that the The Suffolk coast is an exciting place, full of could use the internet to find German Emperor came to stay at castles and towers and gun batteries to explore! out how old they are. South Beach Mansion. During World War One and World War Two it was used as a Royal Navy base. During the 20th century the port has expanded massively, and the river channel has been dredged to allow bigger and bigger ships to dock. The town isn’t quite so Harwich Customs House fashionable any more but it is now the busiest container port in Britain.

Produced by EFMS Design & Print The Coastal Knowledge Fact Sheets have been produced by the AONB with co-funding from our partners Photographs by Dunwich Museum, Tony Pick, Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB and National Trust Martello tower, Slaughden entrance Cartoons: Ma tello © Simon Reid

www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org 11558-007 - SC&H KS2 FactSheet07 - HISTORYv09 03/04/2012 14:46 Page 4

Built for Historical monuments Wartime experiments on secret military Martello towers research The oldest forts you can easily see in Suffolk are the Martello During World Wars towers. They were built about 200 years ago at places like One and Two the Felixstowe, and Shingle Street to protect the country Ministry of Defence from Napoleon and the French. These round towers can be seen owned Orford Ness all along the coast, and were built and used it for to withstand cannon fire from secret military enemy ships. The soldiers and experiments. They Pagoda Orford Ness guns within each tower were tested explosives intended to fend off any invasion and bombs, and during the 1950s they used the until more help arrived. area to perfect the triggers for nuclear weapons. The strangely shaped “Pagoda” buildings shielded Get arty: the explosions from spies. Explore historic buildings Some of the most important experiments that What historic buildings have happened on Orford Ness took place between you seen on the coast? Find 1935-37, when Robert Watson-Watt invented Radar. out why they have been built there and draw a picture to Light house at Orford Ness The Radar station is now at Bawdsey and you can visit to see how Radar works! Without Radar the show how it was used. history of Europe would have been very different and the Germans might Old street layout of Dunwich have had the chance to test now under the sea Coastline Suffolk’s coastal defences for real. Cliffs Get arty: Beach/shingle shoreline in 2000 Orford Ness is now looked after by Existing roads Build a lighthouse River Martello tower Felixstowe the National Trust and if you want to Build a historic building like a visit this extremely special place you light house, castle or can get a ferry across to the Ness Martello tower from recycled Sea has from Orford Quay. cardboard with your class. eroded the You could then use it as a pen holder or desk tidy! coastline Pillboxes One hundred and thirty

Coastline 1300 years later in 1940 it Coastline 1587 Coastline 1450 Coastline 1826 Coastline 2000 was the Germans who were threatening to Dunwich’s changing coastline invade. This time, Pillbox at Bawdsey Britain was unprepared. There was a rush to protect the important “Did you know Suffolk has an harbours and towns with heavy gun batteries. All over the County Atlantis – a town hidden “pillboxes” were built to provide cover for small groups of soldiers. Just like the men in the Martello towers of the Napoleonic Wars, beneath the sea!” they were expected to delay and disrupt any invasion.