Scheduled MonumentsEnglandGreyfriars, Dunwich

Greyfriars, Dunwich

England
List entry 1006039
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1006039
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
3.43 hectares
Grid reference
TM4776270349
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Greyfriars, Dunwich is a ruined Franciscan friary located in the now-submerged medieval port town of Dunwich in Suffolk. The friary was established in the thirteenth century and represents an important example of mendicant religious architecture from the late medieval period. The surviving remains consist of fragmentary masonry and archaeological deposits that testify to the former extent of the conventual buildings. Like much of Dunwich itself, the friary has been progressively lost to coastal erosion over the centuries, with the site now largely visible only through excavation and survey work rather than standing structures.

Greyfriars, Dunwich is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006039. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Greyfriars, Dunwich?

Greyfriars, Dunwich is a ruined Franciscan friary located in the now-submerged medieval port town of Dunwich in Suffolk. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1006039.

Who is responsible for protecting Greyfriars, Dunwich?

Greyfriars, Dunwich is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1006039.

What other scheduled monuments are near Greyfriars, Dunwich?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Maison Dieu (or Hospital of the Holy Trinity), Dunwich (0.3 km), Chapel of St James Hospital, Dunwich (0.4 km), Bowl barrow west of Fen Covert, 305m south of Fen Cottage (3.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Greyfriars, Dunwich

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Greyfriars, Dunwich's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Greyfriars, Dunwich

Greyfriars, Dunwich stands on Neogene To Quaternary Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Quaternary. The rock here is gravel, sand, silt and clay.

The wider landscape

Around Greyfriars, Dunwich

Sutton HooArchaeological site · ~17.8 miles