nd and erect his famous
castle at Walton. But the sea respected not the proud walls of the
baron's stronghold; the strong masonry that girt the keep lies beneath
the waves; a heap of stones, called by the rustics Stone Works, alone
marks the site of this once powerful castle. Two centuries later the
baron's marsh was destroyed by the sea, and eighty acres of land was
lost, much to the regret of the monks, who were thus deprived of the
rent and tithe corn.

The old chroniclers record many dread visitations of the relentless
foe. Thus in 1237 we read: "The sea burst with high tides and tempests
of winds, marsh countries near the sea were flooded, herds and flocks
perished, and no small number of men were lost and drowned. The sea
rose continually for two days and one night." Again in 1251: "On
Christmas night there was a great thunder and lightning in Suffolk;
the sea caused heavy floods." In much later times Defoe records:
"Aldeburgh has two streets, each near a mile long, but its breadth,
which was more considerable formerly, is not proportionable, and the
sea has of late years swallowed up one whole street." It has still
standing close to the shore its quaint picturesque town hall, erected
in the fifteenth century. Southwold is now practically an island,
bounded on the east by the sea, on the south-west by the Blyth River,
on the north-west by Buss Creek. It is only joined to the mainland by
a narrow neck of shingle that divides Buss Creek from the sea. I think
that I should prefer to hold property in a more secure region. You
invest your savings in stock, and dividends decrease and your capital
grows smaller, but you usually have something left. But when your land
and houses vanish entirely beneath the waves, the chapter is ended and
you have no further remedy except to sue Father Neptune, who has
rather a wide beat and may be difficult to find when he is wanted to
be served with a summons.

[Illustration: Norden's Chart of the River Ore and Suffolk Coast]

But the Suffolk coast does not show all loss. In the north much land
has been gained in the region of Beccles, which was at one time close
to the sea, and one of the finest spreads of shingle in England
extends from Aideburgh to Bawdry. This shingle has silted up many a
Suffolk port, but it has proved a very effectual barrier against the
inroads of the sea. Norden's map of the coast made in 1601[2] shows
this wonderful mass of shingle, which has greatly increase