Dunwich Quiz: The Lost Medieval Town Swallowed by the Sea
This Dunwich quiz walks the crumbling Suffolk cliffs above a town lost to the North Sea. Play 10 interactive questions on its size as a medieval port, the great storms of the 1280s, churches falling into the sea, the last tower of All Saints, legends of bells under the waves, Greyfriars ruins, a rotten borough and the last gravestone on the cliff.
Start Dunwich Quiz
🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
County
Which county is Dunwich in?
Port
What was Dunwich in the Middle Ages?
Storms
What struck Dunwich hard in the 1280s?
Harbor
What happened to the harbor after the storms?
Churches
What happened to Dunwich's churches?
Tower
Which church's last tower fell in the early 1900s?
Legend
What does a local legend say about the sea?
Ruins
Which ruins still stand on land?
Borough
What did Dunwich keep until 1832 despite its tiny size?
Grave
What is left near the cliff edge from the old churchyard?
Your score
0/10
Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: Which county is Dunwich in?
Answer: Suffolk
It is on England's east coast.
- Q2: What was Dunwich in the Middle Ages?
Answer: A major port town
It was among England's larger towns.
- Q3: What struck Dunwich hard in the 1280s?
Answer: Great storms
They damaged its harbor.
- Q4: What happened to the harbor after the storms?
Answer: It silted up and was blocked
Trade moved elsewhere.
- Q5: What happened to Dunwich's churches?
Answer: Most fell into the sea
Cliff falls took them one by one.
- Q6: Which church's last tower fell in the early 1900s?
Answer: All Saints
Photos show it on the cliff edge.
- Q7: What does a local legend say about the sea?
Answer: Church bells ring beneath the waves
People listen on stormy nights.
- Q8: Which ruins still stand on land?
Answer: Greyfriars friary
Its walls are near the cliff.
- Q9: What did Dunwich keep until 1832 despite its tiny size?
Answer: Two members of Parliament
It was called a rotten borough.
- Q10: What is left near the cliff edge from the old churchyard?
Answer: A single gravestone
It may fall someday.
Britain's Atlantis on the Suffolk Coast
Dunwich on the Suffolk coast was once a busy medieval port and one of the larger towns in England. Ships traded wool, grain and fish from its harbor, and it had many churches, chapels and religious houses on the soft cliffs above the North Sea.
Great storms in the 1280s damaged the town and helped block its harbor with shingle, sending trade elsewhere. Over centuries the sea ate away the cliffs, and church after church collapsed onto the beach. The last tower of All Saints fell in the early 1900s, and a single gravestone remains near the edge.
Dunwich is often called Britain's Atlantis, and legends say church bells still ring beneath the waves. The ruins of Greyfriars friary still stand inland. Though only a village remained, Dunwich kept two members of Parliament until the Reform Act of 1832, making it a famous rotten borough.
What This Quiz Teaches
History fans will enjoy these questions.
- What Dunwich once was
- What destroyed it
- Which buildings were lost
- Which legends surround it
- What remains today
Did You Know?
- The Dunwich Museum shows a model of the old town.
- Divers have mapped ruins on the seabed.
- Dunwich Heath is a nature area nearby.
- Erosion still threatens the Suffolk coast.
- Nearby Southwold has a famous pier.
Related Quizzes
Ready for another round?
Jump to a random quiz from the archive.