Minsmere is a place in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It is located on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coast around north of

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

and south-east of

Westleton Westleton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Suffolk. It is located north of Leiston and north-east of Saxmundham near the North Sea coast. The village is on the edge of the Suffolk Sandli ...

within the

Suffolk Coast and Heaths The Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Suffolk and Essex, England. The AONB covers ancient woodland, commercial forestry, the estuaries of the Alde, Blyth, Deben, Orwell and Stour ...

AONB. It is the site of the Minsmere RSPB reserve and the original site of

Leiston Abbey Leiston Abbey outside the town of Leiston, Suffolk, England, was a religious house of Canons Regular following the Premonstratensian rule (White canons), dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, St Mary. Founded in c. 1183 by Ranulf de Glanville (c. 1 ...

History

At the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

survey in 1086 Minsmere was known as ''Menesmara'' or ''Milsemere''.Minsmere
''Domesday book online''. Retrieved 2012-10-31. It is recorded as having six households headed by freemen with one plough team.Minsmere
, ''Open Domesday''. Retrieved 2012-10-31. The manor, which was in the Hundred of Blythling, was held by Roger Bigot.

Ranulf de Glanvill Ranulf de Glanvill (''alias'' Glanvil, Glanville, Granville, etc., died 1190) was Chief Justiciar of England during the reign of King Henry II (1154–89) and was the probable author of '' Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie ...

, King Henry II's

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

, founded an abbey on the marshes at Minsmere in 1182,Archaeology and history
''RSPB'', 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2012-10-31. but, probably due to an increased risk of flooding, this was abandoned in favour of

in 1363.Coastal levels
Suffolk Landscape Character Typology, ''Suffolk County Council''. Retrieved 2012-10-31.A stranger in Leiston
''Suffolk Magazine'', 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
''Suffolk Churches''. Retrieved 2012-10-31. Peat cutting took place at Minsmere from at least the 12th centuryMinsmere peat cuttings, of at least 12th century date
''Heritage Gateway''. Retrieved 2012-11-01. and a 1237 description of the coastline describes Minsmere as a port. Minsmere is recorded in the 14th century as being a small village with around 10 homesteads, but these had all been lost to the sea by the 16th century. A survey of 1587 records that the early

Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

'entrenchments' at Minsmere were in ruins and recommended that they be rebuilt.Medieval battery 1485-1540
''Heritage Gateway''. Retrieved 2012-11-01. During the 18th century Minsmere, Eastbridge and the Sizewell gap were renowned as a hotbed for

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

s.History
''The Eel's Foot Inn''. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
Smugglers' Britain. Retrieved 2014-03-10. A coastguard station operated at Minsmere in the 1840s in an attempt to control smuggling along this stretch of the coast.White W (1855) ''History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Suffolk, and the Towns Near Its Borders'' (second edition), Sheffield: R. Leader, p.505,
available online
The marshes along the Minsmere River were drained for agricultural use in the 1840sWhite W ''op. cit.'' p.318 but reflooded during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to defend against invasion along the East Anglian coast. A number of military defences were built in the area, including pill boxes, anti-tank blocks and barbed wire defence lines. Cottages and a beach cafe on the coast at Minsmere sluice were evacuated, used as target practice and later demolished.A Walk around Suffolk's Minsmere Bird Reserve
Griffmonsters Great Walks. Retrieved 2014-03-10.Sluice Cottages Minsmere
Leiston cum Sizewell newsletter, Autumn 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-10. The Minsmere RSPB reserve was established in 1947, making use of the wetland habitats reintroduced by wartime flooding.Milestones
''RSPB''. Retrieved 2012-10-31.

Geography

Minsmere is in a low-lying area of the Suffolk coast approximately north-east of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. It is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es of

and

with the parish border running along the Minsmere Old River. It borders the parish of

Theberton Theberton is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is located north-east of Saxmundham, and miles north of Leiston, its post town. In 2011 the parish had a population of 279. Hi ...

at Eastbridge to the south-west and the parish of

Dunwich Dunwich () is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon ...

to the north along the coast. The landscape is largely flat along the line of the river. This is known as the Minsmere Level, an area of drained and re-flooded marshland with underlying alluvial geology. The area to the south of the Minsmere New Cut drainage ditch, built in 1812, is used as grazing marsh.Suffolk Coast and Estuaries Coastal Habitat Management Plan
''Posford Haskoning Ltd'', October 2002. Retrieved 2012-11-01. To the north the wetland areas are flooded and managed as part of the RSPB's habitat management strategy for its Minsmere reserve. This area includes drier areas of sandlings, including areas of mixed woodland rising up to 20 metres above sea level on sandy ridges.Estate sandlings
Suffolk landscape character typology, ''Suffolk County Council''. Retrieved 2012-10-31. The area provides a number of important habitats, including for species such as bitterns,

marsh harrier The marsh harriers are bird of prey, birds of prey of the harrier (bird), harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized Bird of prey, raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. ...

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Palearctic, Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It bird migration, migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian ...

s, avocets and

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

s. The wetland areas include flooded lagoons and much of the area is designated as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

The grazing marshes to the south of the Minsmere Levels provide over-wintering grounds for a variety of different waterfowl species. The coastline at Minsmere consists of a narrow shingle beach and some areas of sand dune with a shingle bank protecting the low-lying coastal areas.Suffolk SMP2 Sub-cell 3c - Policy Development Zone 4 – Dunwich Cliffs to Thorpeness
''Shoreline Management Plan'', January 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-31. This area is at risk of flooding from coastal surges although, unlike areas to the north and south, it does not suffer significantly from coastal erosion. To the north Minsmere Cliffs are found within Dunwich Heath, a

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

property. The cliffs consist of loose, unconsolidated sand and shingle glacial deposits and suffer from

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

Minsmere Sluice Chapel

The remains of a chapel built on the original site of

are located on the Minsmere Level to the south of the Minsmere New Cut.38: Leiston Abbey
, ''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...

'', 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2014-02-19. These are the only visible remains at the site of the original

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

Abbey. The chapel was probably built when the abbey was relocated and stands on the site of the original monastic church, the stone from which was probably used to build the new abbey at Leiston. It is thought to have been used as a chapel dedicated to St Mary until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537.Page.W (1975) 'Houses of Premonstratensian canons: The abbey of Leiston', ''A History of the County of Suffolk: Volume 2'', pp. 117-199
available online
. Retrieved 2012-10-31. The abbey was originally built on an island in the marshland but is believed to have suffered from frequent

coastal flooding Coastal flooding occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged (flooded) by seawater. The range of a coastal Flood, flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coas ...

which led to its relocation to

in 1363. Geophysical surveys have shown that a number of archaeological features lie buried in the immediate area, including remains of the abbey church, cloisters and fish ponds. The chapel remains include a pillbox built in the early stages of the

. The site and its surrounding area is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. The chapel remains were restored in 2011 to preserve them and to allow some public access.New life for old chapel
''Ipswich Star'', 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2012-10-31.

References

External links

3D model of the chapel on Sketchfab
{{Coord, 52.248, 1.608, type:landmark_region:GB-SFK, display=title Hamlets in Suffolk Forcibly depopulated communities in the United Kingdom during World War II