Further to my previous entry on the news that a 'lost' hamlet has been found at the bottom of Bowood lake and also given the fact that here in the UK we're experiencing some of the most extreme floodings in some time, here is a quick round-up of towns and villages given up to encroaching waters and/or our ever-increasing demand for drinking water.

There are a number of sunken communities in the UK, many of them now sit under man-made reservoirs for example the small villages of Derwent and Ashopton were flooded when the Ladybower reservoir in the Derbyshire Peak District was created in the 1940s¹. Similarly, the villages of Nether Hambleton and Middle Hambleton are now submerged under Rutland Water (the largest reservoir in the UK).

Wales has a lion's share of lost lands. For example Cardigan, Caernarvon and Conwy Bay all boast tales of submerged Kingdoms.

While some of these may be romanticised and embellished, stories such as the tale of Maes Gwyddno (Gwyddno's Plain, also known as Lowland or in some cases Bottom Hundred) and others might just describe actual floodings. There is evidence of submerged forests in the area that the sunken kingdom is said to have existed. For example, remains of a forest are visible during low tide at Borth. It could very well be that these tales are indeed a folk memory of a land that was lost to floods.

The once-heavily populated Suffolk town of Dunwich, England, suffered dramatic flooding during the 13th and 14th century. At one time, Dunwich was a major sea-port but the flooding lead to parts of the town being lost to the waves and sadly, coastal erosion has carried on ever since². Dunwich also shares a legend that accompanies many of the tales surrounding sunken, submerged villages and towns. It is said that during certain tides, the peals of church bells can be heard from beneath the waves³.

Moving north but staying on the east coast of the UK, Withernsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire has a memorial on its seafront, bearing the legend of the Sister Kirkes:

Legend tells of two sisters building separate churches after arguing over the style of a jointly funded church. One wanted a spire, the other a tower. These two buildings became known as the Sister Kirkes.

The Sea eventually claimed both of the churches. Eroding the church of St Mary the Virgin, Withernsea around 1444. St Peter's church, Owthorne, between 1286 and 1324.

Stones from the churches were reused in the building of St Nicholas church, Withernsea and St Mary the Virgin, Rimswell.

Human remains found on the beach from St Peter's were reinterred at Rimswell⁴.

It must be said that Withernsea and the whole of the Holderness region suffer a never-ending battle with coastal erosion.

In 1607, England and Wales suffered one of the most devastating floods in history. The Bristol Channel floods lead to over two thousand deaths, damaging farmland and livestock and the flood waters reached as far inland as Glastonbury, some fourteen miles from the coast. Controversy has cropped up in recent times with the speculation from some quarters that the flood was caused by a tsunami although the British Geological Survey does not agree with this theory saying that there is no geological evidence to suggest that an earthquake occured at that time^5.

Going back to Wales: Llys Helig, a palace of the 6th century King, Helig ap Glannowg is said to lie two miles off the coast of Conwy Bay. In 1816, an Edward Pugh is said to have wrote of floating in a boat over the area and seeing ruined houses and a causeway pointing to Priestholme Island and Penmaenmawr on the mainland.

In 1864, an expedition to find the remains of the building was lead by a Charlton R. Hall of Liverpool and the Rev. Richard Parry of Llandudno. They apparently saw "[...]lines of seaweed growing on the tops of walls and returned convinced that they had seen the remains of 'a grand hall of distinguishable trace' [...]".

Later expeditions interpreted the underwater archaeology as a walled enclosure covering an approximate area of that of five and half acres⁶.

Over in Canada, a number of communities and islands were flooded during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway (the system of canals that allow ocean-going ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes). They are now referred to as 'The Lost Villages' and in some locations the remains of sidewalks and buildings can still be seen under the water. The town of Iroquois was relocated and while parts of Morrisburg were flooded, those in the affected parts of the town were transferred to higher ground.

The City that sank or rather the infamous Port Royal, Jamaica, is another casualty of the sea. In 1692 an earthquake hit the piratical town and thirty-three acres "of the storehouse and treasury of the West Indies"⁷ sank into the deep. After a severe storm, a hurricane and two more earthquakes in 1722, the final nail was driven in the town's coffin. While the sea around Port Royal is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Caribbean, it is now an impoverished fishing village. The town that had once been called the 'Wickedest City on Earth' had had its comeuppance and returning once again to Wales, it brings to mind the tale that surrounds Lyn-y-Maes near Tregaron⁸.

Here, a small lake is said to cover the site of the original Tregaron whose inhabitants are said to have been wicked, their time was spent indulging in revelrie and orgies. After being warned countless times that the town would be destroyed by fire and flood if they did not mend their wicked ways, lightning struck causing a fire to break out. Shortly after this a devastating flood swept through and consumed the town. Those who did not burn were drowned.

It sounds very much like a Welsh version of Sodom and Gomorrah! It also reminds me of the recent ramblings of the Bishop of Carlisle who is using the distress of the UK floods to get some airtime by saying the extreme flooding hitting parts of the UK are a "judgement on society" and that our decadent lifestyle in the West is to blame for it. Nice...

On that note, I'll take my leave and go and stock up on some sandbags. Stay dry and safe!

^{[1] BBC Inside Out - Sunken Villages}

^{[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich}

^{[3], [6] & [8] Barber, C. (1982) Mysterious Wales. Trowbridge: David & Charles pp211 - 214}

^{Also: The lyrics and a midi-file of The Bells of Aberdovey, a Welsh folk song whose lyrics are inspired by the legend of a sunken church at Aberdyfi, Ceredigionshire. The church was supposedly lost during the flooding of the Lowland Hundred and it is said that on a calm night the bells of the church can sometimes be heard ringing from beneath the sea. Sometimes a single peal or "at other times the complete carillon.".}

^{[4] Photograph taken in March 2006}

^{[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Channel_floods,_1607}

^{[7] The Port Royal Project}