DISAPPEARING ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 87

DISAPPEARING ENGLAND.

"An Old Man," writing on the subject "How Long Will England Last?" gays that many people wonder what will be the end of noble, true, and faithful England. The oountry is gently slipping away, and this : can be seen at every seaport in England, ; with the one exception of Yarmouth, in the 1 east of England. When the writer was a ' small boy the cry was tnat Yarmouth people must have a marine parade along the beach. After some y«a*ra the parade was completed, and a splendid drive pro1 vided extending a distance of 10 miles. The people were all pleased and satisfied. By the time the writer reached manhood the water had receded so far from the drive that the cry was raised for another drive on the sea front, and to provide the money it was suggested that the site of the old drive should be sold as building allotments, to provide accommodation for the 30,000 visitors to Yarmouth every year. This drive has been completed, and for the present everyone is satisfied. In every other seaport, "however, the «ea is encroaching and taking away ground that can ill be spared. Taking a trip of 44 miles to Cromer, we find the eea has encroached for a distance of 138 yards. The ground has gone to join the old town of Cromer, which many years ago was all ! swallowed up by the sea. Ships now sail j over what was once the important town of Cromer, with its great lighthouse. Shipden, close by, has long ceased to occupy a place on the map of England — the sea has overwhelmed it. There are people still alive who say that at low tide they have caught a glimpse of the masonry of the church. The whole coast line here has been gradually taken possession of. The cliffs on which Sheringham holiday-makers used to hold their game 6 have disappeared, and are now under water, so deep that a man-o'-war could easily float over the spot. Whichever direction Cromer is left by the sea front the land is found to be fast slipping away. Crossing over to Dunwich, a port in the South of England, what a splendid city this was : a large and busy centre. An idea of its size may be gathered when it is mentioned that it could boast of 12 English churches containing 72 bells. In the evening the ringing of beautiful peals could be heard for miles far and near. Dunwich harbour was considered the finest, safest, and deepest harbour in England. Now the whole of this once flourishing town is at the bottom of the sea. and will never be seen again. Orwell, which once lay east of Harwich, has altogether disappeared, and it is said that if Sir Charles Lvell had not pointed out the folly of selling for cement the stones that fell on the beach and formed a breakwater Harwiqh would have disap-

on the sub

peared before. Going back to Yorkshire, from Spurn Heads to Whitby the country is constantly disappearing. Between Bridlington and the Humber the sea has encroached 160 yards during the last few years, and in other parts close by 30 broad acres are being lost per year. Amongst the pretty villages and towns were Aulburn, Hyde, and Hartburn. The sea has long since claimed all three, and to-day they only survive in name. Kiln6ea and Owthorne have been built on new sites further inland, the old sites having gone. Ravenspur, at one time a flourishing and important town, which promised to eclipse Hull (here it was that Henry IV landed while Richard was away in Ireland, and thereby gained a kingdom and a crown), has fallen a prey to the great sea, and the tide comes and goes over its once busy streets and beautiful buildings. At Dovercourt the sea .has made great inroads on the cliffs, and the old church of Walton-on-the-Haze, which stood at some considerable distance from the shore, has been swept away. The Isle >f Sheppy is being wiped out of existence. At one time the church or minster was in the middle of -the island ; now it stands on the shore. More remarkable still has been the experience of the church of Reculver," which in Henry Vlll's time "used to stand a good mile from the sea, and now is perched on the top of a cliff, from which the coffins in the churchyard might be seen protruding, thebase of the cliff haying been washed away by the tide. Kingsgate Castle, near Broadstairs, will, so it is said, soon share the same fate. The east coast of the Isle of Wight is constantly slipping away. On the South Coast of England the sea is gaining century by century. Between Bridgport and Lynne Regis, and Brighton and Portsmouth,' and to the west, thousands of acres which were once high and dry are now the sporting ground of the sea fish.