Dunwich Museum - Dunwich, England 12:35 PM - Thursday, September 5, 1985
Lucius thumbed through the book. It would take some time to scan it thoroughly, but he did notice that the first legend of Dunwich mentioned was that sometimes the bells of the underwater churches could still be heard ringing from the shore.
"Dunwich was quite a major city," Amelia told Elizabeth. "The tenth largest in England. The earliest population figures we have for it are from when the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086. At the time, it had three churches and a population of around three thousand. That was in the early Norman era, which the next exhibits will describe when you're ready to move on."
Raymond advances with the group to the Norman exhibit and glances at Chad when the bells are mentioned, "This place seems to have more strange things and stories than most small towns." When Amelia mentions that the bells couldn't be rung Raymond responds, "I'm not sure that's true. Unless you mean the bells are stuck and couldn't be rung at all. But it is possible that they could ring underwater - given they are struck with enough force. It's like yelling underwater or snapping your fingers; you can hear those. I think the sound wave produced would stay underwater though, so it isn't as if you could hear them from the shore."
"Yes, that's what I meant," said Amelia. "If someone went diving down there, I suppose they could technically ring the bells, but nobody would hear it from shore." She led the group over to a display case containing artifacts from Dunwich's Norman era, beside which was a depiction of a street scene from that time.
"In spite of Viking raiders," Amelia continued, "Dunwich grew and prospered thanks to overseas trade. One group of Vikings had settled down in Normandy, in northern France, and they became the people we know as the Normans. In 1066, William the Conqueror crossed the Channel and swiftly took over, becoming King William I of England. Twenty years later, he ordered a census of his kingdom, which was the aforementioned Domesday Book. The original of that book is at the National Archives in Kew. There was a long section on Dunwich, of which we have a copy of an excerpt here." She pointed out a framed piece of paper hanging from the wall next to the display case. The paper read: 'Edric of Laxfield held Dunwich before 1066 as one manor; Twenty Four Frenchmen with 40 acres of land. Burgesses 236, poor men 180, They pay 4 10s. The land on the cliff used to be 200 acres, as the Sea had carried off the other 100'
"You can see from this that the sea was already starting to encroach on Dunwich. At the time, however, the erosion made for a better harbour. Commerce flourished, and fishing was plentiful."
"Yes that must be an unusual thing to see mentioned in the Domesday Book," says Elizabeth. "I've only looked at some of the entries, but I've never seen land erosion mentioned before. It must have already been regarded as a significant problem for the town, albeit one with some benefits, as you say."
"Erosion," Lucius repeated, trying to make sense of it. "So... you're suggesting the earth itself was ripped away a piece at a time, back to the ocean. If that happened, why wouldn't the buildings themselves just have toppled over? It seems to me that in this case one of two things happened. Either the oceans raised ... which would be noticeable along all coastlines I would imagine; or the land itself has lowered. There may have been erosion as you suggest, but it would have been digging out from under the surface until the whole surface lowered... perhaps in large pieces."
"Erosion is a very gradual process," said Amelia, "taking place over hundreds of years. There are sudden events that hasten it, such as a massive storm that struck in 1286 and an even worse one in 1328. You'll see more about that in the next section with the medieval exhibits. Quite a few of the buildings did in fact collapse, though some may survive more or less intact on the sea floor. Part of it depends upon how the buildings were constructed. Traditional thatch-roofed cottages built a thousand years ago wouldn't stand a chance, but churches were built to last. All Saints Church, however, was built on the edge of a cliff and fell into the sea in stages. Part of it was still there at the beginning of this century, but it's completely gone now."
"Yes I've seen pictures of All Saints Church," says Elizabeth to Amelia, "taken over the space of a decade or two, showing its gradual collapse into the sea. Quite eerie. It is intriguing though to think that some of the buildings might be more or less intact on the sea floor. Oh I wish I could dive to see them."
"Well, big fish or not, we might have to go down there if Dr. Kirby went down." Raymond turns to Amelia and says, "Has the Catholic church made any attempts to salvage the churches underwater? If I remember correctly, these old churches typically had some relic or piece of a saint in the alter or on the premises. I imagine the Church would want those back."
"It's true that there have been shark sightings in these waters," Amelia said, nodding. "Diving can be dangerous even if there are no sharks around. Best left to professionals, and even they never dive alone. There may very well be relics left in some of the churches, though most of them were probably removed by the Church before the sea claimed them. I haven't heard anything about salvage expeditions exploring the underwater ruins, but I'm sure divers have gone down to look around at one point or another. Are you ready to follow me to the medieval exhibits? It looks like your friend is already heading over that way."
"I'm not sure I'd have the courage to dive to be honest," laughs Elizabeth, "even if I had someone to show me what to do properly." Looking over towards Lucius she adds: "Yes, he's already ahead of us. I'm ready for medieval now."
Brook giggles a bit. This was a different sort of time travel. Not quite as exciting, though. She follows after Lucius, when a thought suddenly occurs to her. Perhaps she was sort of medieval herself. She always fancied herself as being from the present, but so did probably Elizabeth and Lucius, and they had already visited the future, so when was "now"? Was is whenever they were at any given moment? And without a fixed point as her own present, how could she know how old she was? How much time had passed?" She frowns. "My head hurts..." she murmurs as she makes her way into the middle ages.
"Dunwich grew and prospered in the early Middle Ages," Amelia explained to the tour group. "More than a few crusaders came from Dunwich, and their ships set sail from here. In 1199, King John granted a charter to Dunwich and made it a free borough, which gave it a lot of autonomy. After another century, it got two seats in Parliament. Many pilgrims came to Dunwich because of St. Felix, who had spread Christianity to East Anglia. Dunwich at this time had eight churches, plus a Knights Templar church. There were also two monasteries, one for the Blackfriars and another for the Greyfriars. The ruins of the Greyfriars abbey still stand on dry land not far from here, just up Monastery Hill. There was also a leper hospital, next to where St. James's Church stands today at the western end of this street, and the Maison Dieu Hospital, which sadly is now a car park." She pointed out a display case filled with various items.
"Here you can see a number of items that probably belonged to pilgrims. On the left, there are several brooches and clips. This lead bottle would have been used to contain holy water, and these coins date from the medieval period."
Elizabeth leans forward, fascinated by the finds. "Amazing to think those brooches and coins were handled by people all those centuries ago. If only we could travel back and speak to them." She winks at Brook. "I imagine they could tell us so much."
Lucius had lost most of the conversation when words from periods unknown to him and Hollywood movie references were being tossed about all willy-nilly. He remained silent and just checked out the exhibits to see if he could make out what some things were intended for use without reading the little placards. "It's amazing, really. Technologically speaking, there isn't much difference between the Roman era and the middle ages... but technological advances in the past hundred or two hundred years have been huge leaps and bounds."
Amelia smiled. "That would be a historian's dream come true," she said. "Ah, to walk the streets of Old Dunwich and talk to the people there. If only it were possible. Alas, real life is not the cinema." She nodded to Lucius. "The Romans were actually quite advanced when you think about it. After Western Rome fell, so much was lost. Technology and standards of living plummeted, and they took a long time to recover. Still, much knowledge was preserved, particularly by the Irish monks and the Arab cultures that rose to prominence afterwards, as well as by Eastern Rome. A lot of people forget that the Byzantine Empire lived on for nearly a thousand years after the fall of Rome. By around 1500, people had caught up with and surpassed much of what the Romans had achieved, though their roads were unmatched until Victorian times. The wonders of the Renaissance were great, but they certainly do pale in comparison with what we've achieved since the Industrial Revolution. Who knows how far it will go? But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? We're not yet done with the Middle Ages.
"The beginning of the end for Dunwich's heyday came in 1286. A powerful storm that lasted three nights swept the lower part of the town away into the sea and connected the spit of land that had formed offshore to the coastline south of town. The much-vaunted harbour was no more. Here is a painting depicting the event." She indicated a framed picture hanging on the wall next to the display case.
"Channels were dug to restore some access by sea to Dunwich, but in 1328 an even worse storm struck. Many people died, and this time the harbor was lost for good. The courses of the Blyth and Dunwich Rivers had been changed by the storm so that they reached the sea further north. Dunwich began to stagnate, and it has been declining ever since. It would never again achieve its former greatness."
Lucius responded, "Hrm... seems humanity is filled with all sorts of dark periods that have set us back as a race. Still... the rate of advancement in these future years are much more rapid, it seems. The smarter humans get, the quicker they learn."
He looked to the others and wondered aloud, "I wonder if it is nurture or nature that brings this rapid advancement along. It would be an interesting experiment to bring a child from the distant past and put him into the schools of today and see how he or she fared."
"Probably quite well," said Amelia. "Even as our knowledge increases, our wisdom tends to decline. Ancient peoples were much more brilliant than most modern folk give them credit for. If they had had access to today's technology, there's no telling what they could have accomplished. Are you ready to proceed to the exhibits on the Tudor era?"
"This way, then," said Amelia, leading the group to the next set of exhibits. "After the harbour dried up, the merchants left Dunwich and commerce suffered. The town went into decline, and the sea continued to swallow up bits of it. Here is a map that was drawn in 1585." She points out a framed drawing on the wall:
"As you can see by the compass rose, north is on the right side of the map. You can see St. James's Street right here in the middle, going from the top of the map to where the shoreline was then. The streets and buildings in the lower part of tte map are now all underwater."
Lucius pointed to the right side of the map asking, "This river here... does it connect directly to the ocean now at the southern edge of the map now that all the shoreline has eroded away?" He peered closer at some detail that caught his eyes, and asked, "What are these mounds here?"
"The river doesn't connect to the shoreline near Dunwich at all any more," said Amelia. "Its course has been altered by the great storm of 1328, and now it lets out some ways to the north, between Walberswick and Southwold. I'm not sure what those mounds over in the northeast part of the map represent, but that area is underwater now. It might have been a prominent hill. You can see a windmill over in the southeast corner. That's been submerged too."
"A 'Now' map right here to compare 'Then' with would be a nice thing to have," Lucius suggested. "What about this big triangle at the middle south? If it were as large as the map suggests, surely part of it should still be out of the water."
"The guidebooks we sell in the gift shop have maps both of Dunwich today and as it was at its height," said Amelia. "The map is not to scale. That triangular building might have been a church, and while its steeple may have been high, it is underwater now all the same."
"I understand that people have roots and perhaps Dunwich's decline wasn't so abrupt to warrant it, but over the years why haven't the people of the city simply moved to more prosperous and easier to live in areas? Especially since there is no ocean access for easy trade." Raymond says.
"Many people did precisely that," said Amelia with a smile. "That is why Dunwich's population dwindled from thousands to only about two hundred today. Still, some of us are stubborn folks who'd rather stay put."
Lucius nodded, "A lot of family history... blood bonds to the land... stories for grand-children. I can see why some may stay. And the land isn't too terrible. There are places to farm, and plenty of fishing... so long as you like the big, two-legged fish. Not really my taste, personally."
Amelia stifled a chuckle. "Nobody really gives that legend credibility," she said. "Virgil Soames, a local author, is probably the source for that one, but I don't think even he actually believes it."
Lucius's face was in all seriousness as he lifted an eyebrow and looked to Amelia. He tried to determine if she actually believed that statement. He just couldn't read the girl.
"Ah, yes," said Amelia, glancing at the book in Lucius's hands. "I see you've got one of his books there. Mr. Soames is certainly an...interesting chap."
"Yes we spoke to him earlier," says Elizabeth, curious to see if this might lead Amelia to reveal any more of her opinions on Virgil. "He certainly had some interesting tales to tell."
Lucius nodded, agreeing "He gave us this book - or lent it to us I should say. I was hoping it could help give us some sight-seeing ideas. I do think it's strange though. A place like this could benefit from tourism. Yet Mr. Soames implied that nearly everyone in the city disliked him. I would think the citizens of this village would be more indebted to an author who made a struggling community more alluring to visitors."
"Yes, Mr. Soames does tell a good tale," said Amelia. "It's a pity that most of the townsfolk shun him because of what his brother did. I'm one of the few who still talks to him. Dunwich does get plenty of tourists regardless, but most of the locals wish there weren't so many. It's paradoxical, as it's tourism that keeps Dunwich alive. Mr. Soames does get the occasional visitors from out of town such as yourselves, but it's still a lonely life for him. At least he has Midnight to keep him company."
"That is rather strange that the townspeople are so opposed to tourists, especially if it is mostly the tourism and history books keeping it on the maps. Why do they resent the tourists? It isn't like this is some island that tourists are ruining." Raymond asks.
"Edward Soames, Junior killed old Captain Josiah Lake fifteen years ago," Amelia told Brook. "He apparently blamed him for his parents' deaths when he was a small boy. He fled the Lake Manor, and his crushed body was found at the base of one of the cliffs. The official story is that he accidentally fell off of the cliff in his panicked flight, but there are some that say he was murdered by angry townsfolk who were pursuing him."
Amelia answered Raymond next. "Some of the locals do feel like visitors are ruining Dunwich, though there's not much left to ruin any more. A lot of the locals value their privacy highly. It's a bit of biting the hand that feeds them, but that's Dunwich for you. Personally, I'm glad of tourists and historians such as yourselves coming here, and I do like meeting new people."
Lucius blinked a couple times thoughtfully, then sifted through the index of the borrowed book he carried in search of anything regarding Captain Josiah Lake or the appropriate time period, then turned to the page where he might find more information there. "That would have been roughly what... 10-20 years ago when the parents died?"
Reflections,Suddenly some things started to piece together for [b]Chad[/b]. The bells, when they were first submerged, the natural wave action of the ocean would have rung them, and it would have been audible from shore. Now while corrosion and depth had likely ended that phenomenon, it was very likely to have been true at one time, in that ancestors of Dunwich actually heard those bells and the legend based on fact was passed down within the families of Dunwich. Yet [b]Amelia[/b] greeted the idea with great skepticism. Additionally, her description of the events regarding the murder of [b]Joshiah Lake[/b] and the subsequent death of [b]Edward Soames[/b] seemed relatively apathetic for what was apparently a big deal for the town. Also her split from the prevailing local opinion that tourists were unwelcome continued the trend. While Amelia had a great deal of concern for Dunwich's history, she seemed to have little social attachment to the Dunwich of the present.
Chad finds his voice. "Amelia, you said at the outset you were a volunteer for the museum. You've given us such a wonderful in depth view of so much of Dunwich's history; you must love it very much. If you don't mind me asking, what is your personal connection with Dunwich? Has your family been here long?"
"That's certainly true," Amelia said to Elizabeth, smiling back. She then regarded Lucius. "No, it was longer ago than that. The Soames boys' parents died in 1946. Virgil was just a toddler then. Hopefully he doesn't remember much about it." To Chad she added. "Thank you, young man. I do so love this town's history, and I'm glad you appreciate it. The Cressy famly has been in Dunwich for centuries. Practically every family still here has been. Once the decline was well underway, practically nobody new came here."
OOC,Everyone is moving to the thread linked below.
