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the king's household, and was a cell to Thetford in Norfolk. According to some writers it was dedicated to St. Mary, but according to others to St. Peter and St. Paul; and at the suppression had a yearly révenue of 30l. 9s. 4d.

About one mile to the south-west of Southwold is WALDERSWICK, a very ancient village, and was once a considerable and populous place; this appears from the spaciousness of the church, which was built at the expence of the inhabitants, who had a great trade in butter and cheese to London and other parts of the kingdom. The elder church, though thatched, was adorned with images, and accommodated with an organ. It was taken down in 1473, and a new church erected by the inhabitants, on a fine eminence, and at their own expence; this was a handsome structure, dedicated to St. Andrew. It had two aisles, and in it was a chapel of Our Lady, and the images of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, St. Andrew, St. John, St. James, and several others; and it had also two altars and an organ. Within a few years after, another aisle was added, and it had many curious devices on the walls of the outside, The roof was covered with lead, and each aisle parted from the nave by seven arches and six pillars neatly wrought. The steeple was upwards of 90 feet high, and adorned with eight pinnacles: but in 1696, the greatest part of the church was taken down, and reduced to very small dimensions, probably to save the charge of repairs.

Three miles to the south of Southwold is DUNWICH, a market town, pleasantly situated, having an extensive view of the German Ocean, ean, and is very convenient for sea-bathing, machines being kept for that purpose. This place is reduced very much by the encroachments of the sea, most of its parishes having been destroyed; and the encroachment that is still making, will probably, in a few years, oblige the constituent body to betake themselves to a boat, whenever the king's writ shall summon them to the exercise

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exercise of their elective functions; as the necessity of adhering to forms, in the farcical solemnity of borough elections, is not to be dispensed with. This town sent members ab origine. The right of election is in the freemen, inhabiting within the remains of the borough, and not receiving alms. The corporation consists of two bailiffs, and 12 capital burgesses; so that the number of voters is only 14. Returning officers, the bailiffs. The market, which is very mean, is held on Monday; and the town consisted, according to the late population act, of 44 houses, and 184 inhabitants, viz. 89 males and 95 females.

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With respect to antiquity, this place is supposed to vie with most others in the kingdom. It is thought to have been a station of the Romans, from Roman coins having been found in its neighbourhood; while others maintain that it was a British town, under the protection of the Romans. It is seated on a cliff 40 feet high, and on the east and west of the town were raised ramparts of earth, fortified on the top with pallisades, and at the foot with a deep ditch, part of which, with the bank, is still to be seen. was filled with handsome buildings, and particularly contained the royal palaces of the kings of the EastAngles, and was the first episcopal see of that kingdom. Felix, the Burgundian bishop, whom Sigebert, king of the East-Angles, brought hither to revive the knowledge of Christianity, which his subjects had almost forgotten, fixed his episcopal see here, in the year 636. After him three bishops enjoyed the see, and had jurisdiction over the whole kingdom of the East-Angles; but in the latter part of his third successor's time the see was divided, and a bishop for the Norfolk part of that kingdom being placed at Elmham, the bishop of Dunwich, or as it was then called, Domoc and Donmuc, had the Suffolk part only; after the division of the see, there are said to have sat 11 bishops at Dunwich; but about

about the year 820, or soon after, the troublesome times put a period to this bishopric, before it had lasted 200 years.

When Domesday-book was made this place paid $ol. or, in other words, 50 pounds weight of silver, to the king, and 60,000 herrings. In the reign of King Henry the Second, it was a famous city, filled with great riches; and, it is said, that there was, for some time, a mint here. In the first year of the reign of King John, it had a charter of liberties, in which the burgesses, among other things, had the privilege of giving, selling, or otherwise disposing of their lands and houses, within the town, at pleasure. This charter cost the citizens 300 marks, besides 10 falcons, and five ger-falcons. In the reign of Richard the First, Dunwich was fined 1,060 marks, Orford 15, Ipswich 200, and Yarmouth 200, for the unlawful practice of supplying the enemy with corn; which may give some insight into the trade of these towns at that time. On the north side of the town was the entrance into the haven, which rendered Dunwich a place of great trade, and on the north side of it was erected a pier: the place, which was part of the quay, nay be still known by the piles yet standing.

Here were six if not eight parish churches, (as before mentioned) namely, St. John's, which was a rectory, and seems to have been swallowed up by the sea about the year 1540; St. Martin's, St. Nicholas's, and St. Peter's, which were likewise rectories, and St. Leonard's, and All-Saints, which were impropriated. These, and all the other churches, were given, by Robert Mallet, to his priory at Eye, in the reign of William the Conqueror, and the prior and convent presented to all the instituted churches, out of most of which they had portions of tithes, and they had all the revenues of the impropriated ones, but were obliged to find a secular priest to serve the cures. The register of Eye also mentions the churches of St. Michael and St. Bartholomew, whicla

were

were swallowed up by the sea before the year

1331.

Besides these parish churches, Weaver mentions three chapels dedicated to St. Anthony, St. Francis, and St. Catharine. Here was also the Temple church, dedicated to St. Mary and St. John Baptist, which probably belonged, first to the Templars, and afterwards to the Hospitallers, who had a good estate in this neighbourhood, and might, as other lords frequently did, build a church for the use of their own tenants; for it does not appear that they had any preceptory or commandery here. There was here likewise a noble and ancient church belonging to St. James's hospital, which consisted of a master, and several leprous brethren and sisters: it is said to have been founded in the reign of Richard the First, and confirmed by him afterwards, when he came to the throne of England; but others suppose it to be founded by Walter de Ribo. The vast income of this once famous hospital, is now dwindled to about 221. a year, of which 40s. per annum belongs to the master, and the remainder is applied towards the maintenance of three or four indigent people, who reside in a poor old house, which is all that is left of the building, except the shell of the church. Here was also an hospital, called Maison Dieu, or God's House, which was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, in the reign of Henry the Third, and was plentifully endowed for a master, six brethren, and several sisters, with tenements, houses, lands, and rents; but the yearly revenues do not amount at present to quite 121. out of which the master has 21. and the remainder is divided among a few poor. people, who, with the master, live in two old decayed houses, which are all that are left of this hospital, except a small part of the church belonging to

it.

Here were also two houses of friars, one of Franciscan, or Grey friars, founded by Fitz-John, and

Alice his wife, and its revenues were enlarged by King Henry the Third. Its walls encompass upwards of seven acres of land, and in them were three gates. That to the eastward is quite demolished, but the arches of two gates to the westward, continue pretty firm, and have something curious in their workmanship, but are almost covered with ivy. The largest of these gates serve for the principal entrance to the house, the greatest part of which now lies in ruinous heaps; but the part which remains is converted into a tenement: here is a hall, in whichare several apartments, where the affairs of the corporation are transacted, and the jail. The east front of this part of the building has been rebuilt with brick. The other monastery was for the Dominicans, or Preaching friars, and was founded by Sir Roger Holishe, knight. Both these monasteries had handsome churches belonging to them.

As the ruin of this town was principally owing to the encroachments of the sea from time to time, it will not be improper to give here a more particular account of these dreadful devastations. It is observable, that the coast is here destitute of rocks, and the principal part of Dunwich being built on a hill, consisting of loam and sand of a loose texture, it is no wonder that the surges of the sea, beating against the foot of the precipice, easily undermined it.Gardner, in his historical account of Dunwich, observes, that one of the two carves of land, taxed in the reign of Edward the Confessor, was found to be swallowed up by the sea, at the time of the survey made by order of William the Conqueror. The church of St. Felix, and the cell of monks, were lost very early. In the first year of Edward the Third, the old port was rendered entirely useless, and before the 23d year of that king's reign, great part of the town, with upwards of 400 houses, which paid rent to the fee-farm, with certain shops and windmills, were devoured by the sea. After this the church

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