Relatives' Distress Over Coastal Degradation Endangering Norfolk Graves
Loved ones whose relatives buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.
An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards
Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.
A newly published study on the issue details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.
“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”
Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.
Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles
A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.
“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”
A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril
Along the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.
“It truly trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”
In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”
Searching for Solutions and Certainty
An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.
Some are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the time for relocation is drawing near.
“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”
A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”
He added there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”
“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the right solutions for each community.”
The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.